Key Insights
- State Street Global Advisors launches Australia’s lowest-cost gold fund at 0.14% p.a. management fee.
- ANZ Private Bank to seed the fund as part of its new strategic asset allocation including gold.
- The fund aims to track spot gold prices using securities backed by physical gold stored in global vaults.
SYDNEY (MarketsXplora) – State Street Global Advisors, the asset management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE:STT), announced on Wednesday the launch of the State Street Gold Fund, a new unlisted managed fund in Australia aimed at tracking the performance of the spot gold price.
The fund, which boasts the lowest management costs for a gold fund domiciled in Australia at 0.14% per annum, invests in securities backed by physical gold bullion stored in vaults across London, New York, and Zurich.
ANZ Private Bank, which manages over AU$9 billion in client assets, will be seeding the State Street Gold Fund as part of a broader shift in its strategic asset allocation that includes a first-time allocation to gold.
Robin Tsui, State Street Global Advisors’ Asia Pacific Gold Strategist, highlighted gold’s potential as an inflation hedge.
“The price of gold is determined by a complex matrix of global macroeconomic and fundamental factors including central bank policies and interest rates, emerging market demand and mining production,” Tsui said.
Lakshman Anantakrishnan, Chief Investment Officer at ANZ Private Bank, explained the decision to allocate to gold as a move to enhance the risk characteristics of their multi-asset portfolios.
“For investors, the asset class can play a similar role during periods of uncertainty, helping add diversification to portfolios given its historically low or negative correlation to most other asset classes,” Anantakrishnan noted.
He added that while rising real yields and a strong dollar typically challenge gold prices, safe-haven demand is increasing, with some governments and central banks looking to diversify their reserve assets away from the dollar.
The State Street Gold Fund is available to institutional and advised investors, as well as intermediaries such as advisers and platforms, offering a new low-cost option for Australian investors seeking gold exposure.
The launch comes as gold continues to attract investor interest amid global economic uncertainties and inflationary pressures, with State Street positioning itself to meet this growing demand in the Australian market.
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