Fisher Funds ups investment in Australia

By NZPA

Friday 8th June 2007

Fund manager Fisher Funds has upped its investment in ASX-listed Australian growth companies five-fold.

In the past 12 months the firm says it has invested more than $350 million across the ditch, from $50 million in September last year. It ranks as recent successes its stake in Credit Corp, a specialist debt collection business, whose share price has risen by over 240% since the shares were bought in August 2005.

Coal seam methane producer Arrow Energy has also repaid the fund handsomely, with its share price rising from A55c to more than $A2.70 since March 2006.

Fisher's Australian Growth Fund has returned 19.4% in the year to April 30 . The fund manager claims that when converted into Australian dollars, its performance would top all Australian-based equity funds investing in Australia.

Managing director Carmel Fisher said people were aware of the rise of the Australian resource sector in recent years, but there were also a surprising number and range of small, successful Australian companies .

"A lot of these companies are not well known, even to Australian investors, and therefore represent real opportunities for New Zealanders."

Growth companies, which historically deliver pay low dividends but deliver healthy capital gains, are thought to be especially attractive to New Zealand investors who cannot use Australian franking credits.

They also have stronger buying power thanks to the high New Zealand dollar.

Comments from our readers

No comments yet