Sanlam launches real assets fund

The fund's investment focus is listed securities that derive their value from underlying real assets. This can be via REITs, investment trusts or specialist companies with a focus on physical assets.

The fund will be managed by Mike Pinggera, who runs the Sanlam Four Multi Strategy fund, and the company said the fund has already attracted £55m of new investment into the strategy.

The launch follows Sanlam's sale of its bond business to Man Group's discretionary investment management business, Man GLG, earlier this month.

Tom Carroll, investment director at Sanlam Four said: "We anticipate a lot of interest in this fund; the near-term global outlook remains uncertain and there is increasing demand for long-term real returns, growing income streams and investment diversification.

"Much of the available real asset exposure currently stems from private equity style vehicles where investors forego liquidity in exchange for exposure and return.  

"Listed real assets securities are particularly important for investors who have traditionally been unable to access real assets due to the liquidity terms and minimum investment sizes demanded by private vehicles."

Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen, said: "Sounds interesting, might explain a bit why they were comfortable selling the bond strategy to Man GLG, as in a world of rising inflation and rising interest rates real assets look more attractive than bonds. Income earned from them is often linked to inflation and many of the underlying investments are linked to government contracts and therefore offer potentially low risk and more secure income."

He added: "The sector is growing in popularity and there aren’t too many players in that space at the moment so Sanlam have arguably made a smart move here. One key to success is the need for specialist research and analytical skills as understanding the underlying assets is important to building a properly diversified portfolio."

david.thorpe@ft.com