(Pictured: Andrew Bascand)

Harbour Asset Management of New Zealand has launched a new wholesale global equities Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) fund in association with Baltimore-based growth manager T. Rowe Price.

While T. Rowe Price markets to larger institutions directly, Andrew Bascand, Harbour managing director, said the deal would give smaller-scale NZ investors tax-effective access to one of the word’s “premium global growth managers”. The PIE structure is an effective ‘tax wrapper’ for NZ investors.

The T. Rowe Price Global Equity Growth Fund, benchmarked against the MSCI All Country World Index, is a growth-oriented portfolio, typically holding about 130 stocks, of which roughly 15 per cent will be allocated to emerging markets.

Bascand said Harbour could now offer clients a broader investment solution on top of its Australasian equities and NZ fixed income products.

“Or investors may just want access to a tax-efficient global growth fund,” he said.

According to Bascand, while the NZ share market has been a global star performer over the last six years, local investors have increasingly recognised the need to diversify offshore.

“Investing in global equities using a passive index approach is one efficient way of getting diversification,” he said. “But we believe that investors will benefit from exposure to sectors biased to long-term secular growth trends.”

Bascand said Harbour began searching for a global shares option in 2012 before settling on T. Rowe Price , which manages about US$750 billion, almost 18 months ago.

“We’re both growth managers,” he said.

As part of the agreement Harbour will have access to T. Rowe Price global research.

Harbour has also hired Kendal Law as head of sales to provide marketing support for the new T Rowe Price fund. Prior to joining Harbour, Law performed a similar institutional fund marketing role for Credit Suisse Securities in London and Hong Kong.

– David Chaplin, publisher of Investment News NZ