NZ Investors Push WiNZ Over $2 Billion

Media Release

26 November 2001

NZ Investors Push WiNZ Over $2 Billion

Four years after inception, AMP Henderson Global Investors’ World Index NZ Fund (WiNZ) has passed the $2 billion mark, making it New Zealand’s largest single sector fund and the largest indexed fund.

At $2.4 billion AMP Henderson’s WiNZ fund is now larger than the total assets under management of 33 of the 40 New Zealand investment companies.

Initially listed in August 1997, local investors’ thirst for cost efficient global investment has given WiNZ exponential growth. New Zealanders invested $700 million into WiNZ in 2000 and $1.4 billion in 2001 to date.

“A surge from retail investors together with the Government Superannuation Fund Authority selecting WiNZ have given it a real boost over the last quarter,” said Catherine Savage, AMP Henderson managing director.

WiNZ typically enjoys funds inflow of around $12 million per month but over recent months this has more than doubled to around $25 million per month with retail investors taking advantage of attractive prices. The Government Superannuation Fund Authority recently selected the Super WiNZ fund for managing part of its global equity (passive) portfolio.

“WiNZ’s ability to cushion investors through diversification was well illustrated in the wake of the recent terrorist activity in the United States. Two months after the incident the WiNZ share price is up 4.5% while many sector specific funds continue to suffer from market movements.”

“And to ensure that WiNZ has even broader exposure to global markets we are expanding the number of companies that it invests in from 260 to 750. This further benefits investors seeking to diversify their global investments.”

WiNZ is a passive international equities fund that tracks stocks in a modified Morgan Stanley Capital Index (MSCI), giving investors direct exposure to a global portfolio of companies in six “grey list” countries (United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Canada and Australia).

AMP Henderson is New Zealand’s largest fund manager with over $11 billion under management. The WiNZ fund consists of both a listed (NZSE) component and a superannuation component.

Ends.

© Scoop Media