Seven Investment Management (7IM) is offering three new low-cost, multi-asset funds.
The 7IM Pathbuilder range will have an annual management charge of 0.22%. It will be managed by the firm’s investment management team and underpinned by its strategic asset allocation framework which has a 17 year track record of delivering “attractive inflation adjusted returns”, the investment firm said.
The funds are designed to provide advisers with a passive and low-cost option to complement their existing multi-asset strategies with a deeper level of diversification. Advisers can access the funds on the 7IM platform with immediate effect, while they will be made available on third party platforms soon.
Verona Kenny, managing director of intermediary, 7IM, said: “7IM has been a long-term believer in the utilisation of passive investments to provide simple, cost-effective and well-diversified solutions that can meet the varying needs of our clients. In the current environment, access to truly deeper levels of diversification has never been more important and we believe there is appetite from advisers for a low-cost range of volatility managed funds, underpinned by a proven strategic asset allocation framework and investment philosophy.”
Martyn Surguy, CIO, 7IM added: “Traditional balanced portfolios usually aim to deliver diversification by mixing equities for growth and bonds for their defensive properties, but at 7IM we have long since believed that investors should be looking for far more than this traditional split.
“As truly multi-asset investors, our strategic asset allocation has a proven track record of controlling the downside of portfolios while delivering our clients strong returns with true diversification benefits. Something which has arguably never been more important than in the current environment.”
News of the launch coincided with 7IM announcing record high inflows to the 7IM platform last month, driven by appetite for ethical and pro-growth opportunities.
According to 7IM’s latest data, the platform saw rising inflows for the fourth consecutive month in November, recording just over £194 million of flows. This broke its previous record high of £145 million in October.
Environmental, social and governance investing was popular during November, with ESG and impact investing accounting for four of the top ten portfolios. Pro-growth discretionary fund managers also fared well last month, as news of a vaccine breakthrough saw a switch into cyclical growth names. In total, four of the top ten portfolios offered from discretionary fund managers were in the growth category.
Kenny commented: “Investors have been growing in confidence since the lows of the summer when the outlook was much more clouded by Covid-19. Money has been flowing more readily into pro-growth strategies for a number of months now, and it is little surprise that we have now set a new record, with the outcome of the US election also contributing to increased confidence.
“It’s also clear that advisers are looking for ways to help clients invest more sustainably and responsibly, not just because of their ESG impact, but because these funds have also shown they can be outperformers.”
