Quay Global Investors has listed two active exchange-traded funds on the ASX, with the Quay Global Real Estate Fund (Unhedged) Active ETF (ASX:QGRU) and the Quay Global Real Estate Fund (AUD Hedged) Active ETF (ASX:QGFH) available for trading from 24 November.
Quay said the listings mark a significant milestone for the 12-year-old investment team led by Justin Blaess and Chris Bedingfield.
It noted that demand for an ASX-listed structure reflected the strength of its proposition and its focus on the preservation and creation of wealth through a differentiated approach to managing global real estate equity portfolios.
The new active ETFs give investors access to a concentrated, high-conviction portfolio of real estate securities listed on global exchanges.
Quay said global real estate offers a broader investment universe than the domestic market, spanning aged care, student housing, data centres and storage facilities, in contrast with Australia’s retail, office and residential-focused landscape.
The ETFs aim to deliver a total return (before fees and expenses) of the Australian Consumer Price Index plus five per cent per annum over rolling five-year periods.
Each portfolio typically holds between 20 and 40 securities, with income largely generated from leases, rent and other real-estate-related sources.
Gillian Larkin, chair of the Bennelong Funds Management Ltd Board, said: “Quay are one of Bennelong’s strongest and fastest-growing investment partners. These two new active ETFs represent an important step in Bennelong’s strategy to enhance investor access to our leading investment solutions.”
Bennelong Funds Management CEO John Burke said: “Share market natives have limited options to build a high conviction index unaware allocation to global property, so making Quay’s popular proposition available via the ASX was a logical step.
“Active ETFs are an increasingly popular investment vehicle, and we are seeing retail investors seeking more sophisticated ETF offerings, which replicate those managed by experienced investment teams such as Quay Global Investors.”
Quay principal and portfolio manager Blaess said: “The team is proud to reach this milestone. As specialists in listed real estate securities globally we believe an active exposure to global listed property can be a valuable inclusion in a truly diversified portfolio.”
Fellow principal and portfolio manager Bedingfield added that current market conditions support global real estate allocations.
“As investors we are observing deeply discounted valuations globally and consider them to be markedly disconnected from the sector’s robust fundamentals. As such, discounted valuations provide us with opportunity,” Bedingfield said.
