Investment surge pushes WiNZ past $2 billion

By Phil Boeyen, ShareChat Business News Editor

Monday 26th November 2001

AMP Henderson Global Investors says its World Index NZ Fund, WiNZ, has passed the $2 billion mark and is now the country's largest single sector fund and the largest indexed fund.

AMP Henderson MD, Catherine Savage, says at $2.4 billion the fund, which has been going for four years, is now larger than the total assets under management of 33 of the 40 New Zealand investment companies.

New Zealanders put $700 million into the fund last year and so far this year have invested $1.4 billion.

"A surge from retail investors together with the Government Superannuation Fund Authority selecting WiNZ have given it a real boost over the last quarter," says Ms Savage.

She says WiNZ typically enjoys funds inflow of around $12 million per month but over recent months this has more than doubled to around $25 million per month with retail investors taking advantage of attractive prices.

"WiNZ's ability to cushion investors through diversification was well illustrated in the wake of the recent terrorist activity in the United States. Two months after the incident the WiNZ share price is up 4.5% while many sector specific funds continue to suffer from market movements."

WiNZ is a passive international equities fund that tracks stocks in a modified Morgan Stanley Capital Index (MSCI) with exposure to markets in the US, UK, Japan, Germany, Canada and Australia.

The fund currently invests in around 260 companies but Ms Savage says this is being expanded to 750.

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