Plato launches global shares ETF

Plato Investment Management is broadening access to its Plato Global Shares Income Fund with the launch of an active ETF version on the ASX, marking its third investment solution on the exchange.

The Plato Global Shares Income Fund - Active ETF (ASX: PGI2) will be available from May 19, and follows the launch of ASX-listed investment company (LIC) Plato Income Maximiser Limited (ASX: PL8) and the Plato Global Alpha Fund Complex ETF (ASX: PGA1), taking Plato to over $2 billion of funds under management (FUM) in their suite of listed fund solutions, it said. The firm's total firm FUM is $23.6 billion.

The portfolio invests in a globally diversified portfolio of developed-market equities, with an active dividend rotation strategy targeting monthly income distributions and tracks the MSCI World ex Australia Net Returns Unhedged Index, Plato said.

The launch of PGI2 is in response to increasing demand for income diversification and convenient listed access to Plato's global income strategy, the firm added.

The fund, incepted in March 2016, returned 19.4% over the 12 months to April 30.

Commenting, Plato Global Shares Income Fund lead portfolio manager Daniel Pennell said the ETF will provide investment opportunity away from "heavily concentrated" sectors like banking and miners.

"[The concentrated sectors possess] a lot of single-economy, single-currency risk for a portfolio that's supposed to fund someone's retirement," Pennell said.

"PGI2 gives investors income exposure to sectors the ASX doesn't offer at scale, including global healthcare, technology, and consumer staples, without giving up yield.

"Importantly, this strategy delivers income for clients purely from the cash dividends paid out by portfolio holdings and is not reliant on derivatives trading or capital gains realisation for income generation."

Meanwhile, Plato founder and managing director Don Hamson added: "We have always advocated for highly diversified income generating portfolios and PGI2 trading on the ASX is now a great solution not only for diversifying income sources, but also for investors focussed on global equities who want the additional benefit of regular income."

"Since its inception over 10 years ago, the Plato Global Shares Income Fund has delivered great long-term outcomes for clients as a stand-alone solution, or as an allocation blended with our flagship Australian equity income strategy.

"It utilises the same investment process - including our red flags risk management system - and the same dividend rotation strategy as our Australian income Fund, just within a broader universe of stocks."