New Ibbotson Diversified Alternatives Trust offers Australian investors exposure to insurance-linked securities

Australian investors now have a new way to access the insurance-linked securities asset class as part of a diversified alternative investment strategy thanks to a new investment fund launched by Ibbotson Associates Australia, a unit of Morningstar’s Investment Management division.

The Ibbotson Diversified Alternatives Trust is designed to provide liquid, risk -controlled and cost-effective access to a broad range of diversifying instruments. Ibbotson say it is intended to complement a traditional investment portfolio by giving investment clients exposure to a range of alternative investments.

“Many investors want an allocation to alternative investments, but may not have the expertise or purchasing power to assemble a diverse portfolio of non-traditional investments,” said Daniel Needham, Managing Director of Ibbotson Associates Australia. “The Diversified Alternatives Trust leverages the global knowledge and asset allocation expertise of both Ibbotson and Morningstar to provide a comprehensive, diversified alternatives solution for the Australian market.”

“The Trust is invested in liquid assets and strategies that have different return drivers than traditional assets like shares and bonds, and are priced to offer attractive risk-adjusted returns,” said Michael Coop, Ibbotson’s Head of Alternatives.

Through the new fund from Ibbotson investors will gain exposure to a range of asset classes generally considered too sophisticated for individual investors including infrastructure, hedge funds and insurance-linked securities. The ILS portion of the fund is made up of catastrophe bonds and Ibbotson are working with Alternative Beta Partners who are managing the funds ILS exposure. Funds such as this allow investors to gain diversification in their portfolio easily and safe in the knowledge that someone is managing the risk and daily liquidity of the investments for them.