Managed funds

A spread of investments, run by a professional manager.

A managed fund pools your money with other investors' and a professional manager invests it across shares, bonds, property or a mix, so one investment gives you a broad spread. You own units, and each unit is worth a share of what the fund holds. Here is how funds work, what they cost and how you buy and sell them. This page is general information, not an offer or a recommendation.

How a managed fund works.

  1. Manager

    Who runs it

    A professional investment team decides what the fund buys, within the limits set out in its Product Disclosure Statement.

  2. Unit price

    What a unit is worth

    The value of everything the fund holds, less what it owes, divided by the units on issue. A fund quoted on the ASX also has a market price, which usually sits close to it. Both move with the markets.

  3. Spread

    The cost of buying and selling

    The small gap between the price to buy a unit and the price to sell one at the same moment. On the ASX it is the gap between the best offer and the best bid.

  4. Management fee

    What it costs each year

    A yearly percentage of what you hold, taken inside the fund rather than billed to you. Each fund's fee is shown before you invest.

  5. Distributions

    What it pays out

    The fund passes its income and gains on to you, usually each quarter or each year. The amount varies from one period to the next, and when a distribution is paid the unit price adjusts down by about the same amount.

  6. PDS

    What it is, in writing

    The Product Disclosure Statement, issued by the manager: what the fund invests in, its fees, its risks and your rights.

  7. TMD

    Who it is designed for

    The Target Market Determination, also from the manager: the kind of investor the fund is designed for, which helps you and your adviser see whether it suits you.

  8. Past performance

    What it has done

    What the fund returned in past years, after fees. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Buying and selling units.

  1. Funds quoted on the ASX

    Units are bought and sold on the exchange on any trading day, at the market price, which usually sits close to the value of what the fund holds. These are the funds we place.

  2. Funds that are not quoted

    You ask the manager to redeem your units at the next unit price, on the timetable in the Product Disclosure Statement, which for some funds is monthly or less often.

Good to know.

  1. Look at the longer record

    A five year record shows how a fund has behaved through different markets, which tells you more than any single year. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

  2. Distributions and the unit price

    When a fund pays a distribution, the unit price adjusts down by about the same amount, and distributions may be taxable. Your adviser can explain how this works for you.

  3. Compare fees as well as returns

    A small difference in yearly fees adds up over a long holding, which is why we show each fund's management fee next to its record.

  4. Use funds alongside deposits

    A fund has no fixed rate or maturity date, and its value can rise and fall, so it works well alongside cash and term deposits for the money you may need sooner.

How we help.

  1. A clear choice

    Offerings, in your account, shows the strongest five year performer in each of four kinds of fund quoted on the ASX, with its management fee and its record, and your adviser will help you choose the kind that suits you.

  2. Everything in writing

    Your adviser sends you each fund's Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination before you decide.

  3. No fee from us

    There is no fee from us for placing a managed fund. The fund's own fees are the manager's, taken inside the fund.

  4. In your one account

    Units are held in your name and sit in your Towemer account beside everything else you hold. Distributions go to your nominated bank account, or to your Towemer cash account if you prefer.

  5. Confirmed in writing

    The fund, the amount and the price basis are confirmed with you in writing before anything is placed, and a reply from you saying “I confirm” is enough.

Working with us · Cash accounts, term deposits and bonds

Talk to an adviser about managed funds.

Tell us how long you can invest for, and your adviser will take you through the funds that could suit you. There is no obligation.