Fidelity International launches first global equity SMA

Fidelity International has unveiled its first global equity separately managed account (SMA) in Australia, with support from private wealth partner Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr.

The Fidelity Global Top 50 ex Australia Portfolio draws on the firm's global research ratings and analysts' stock selections to manage approximately 50 listed equities.

The SMA employs the firm's proprietary systematic investment process, informed by both fundamental and quantitative research, alongside integrated risk management.

It's managed by a research and portfolio management team that includes Sydney-based portfolio manager Matt Jones and UK-based portfolio managers Hiten Savani and Daniel Swift.

Fidelity International head of wholesale Lauren Jackson said the SMA will help solve a problem that financial advisers face when allocating to core global equities, noting that many still allocate passively or use discretionary active global managers at a higher fee.

"This SMA gives advisers the choice to invest in an actively managed global portfolio, maintain a lower fee structure, and meet the need for a core global equities solution," Jackson said.

She also said that the backing from Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr was important to ensuring the success of the Fidelity Global Top 50 ex Australia Portfolio launch.

"The firm is well respected and has a strong track record. Its knowledge and expertise will be invaluable for the roll out of this SMA, helping clients to navigate the complexities of the market, and providing support to high-net-worth investors," she said.

Emanuel Whybourne & Loehr partner Ryan Loehr said the firm was created to keep pace with the changing needs of investors, adding that one of the most transformative changes over that time has been the increasing shift towards alternative assets.

Notably, an investor presentation from French asset management firm Tikehau Capital showed that alternative assets have grown from 12% of global assets under management in 2005 to 20% in 2023 and are projected reach 23% by 2028.

"Public markets still play an incredibly important role, but fee budgets are shifting away from active equity managers. Recognising this, we wanted to achieve the best of both worlds for our clients in public equities and offer a highly competitive fee structure to rival index funds, with an active overlay from a risk and quantitative perspective from one of the world's largest investment managers, Fidelity International," Loehr said.

He said the partnership will provide clients with transparency, tax flexibility, and ownership of "some of the best listed businesses in the world," without the concentration limits of index funds, and at a price point that rivals the cheapest index available.

"This is the next frontier of active-indexing, and partnering with Fidelity International was the right step to be able to bring this first in kind solution to market for our investors," he said.