Wide choice of funds available gives much to consider

IN RECENT weeks a plethora of new investment funds has been launched onto the Irish market, giving the small retail investor plenty of food for thought, writes Caroline Madden.

Canada Life unveiled its Guaranteed Dividend Bond in the middle of February, which offers access to a high-yield equity fund with a capital guarantee, while Friends First has just launched Magnet Portfolio Secure, a capital-guaranteed version of its Magnet Portfolio fund.

Last month Bank of Ireland Life launched the second phase of its Financials Fund, which it says aims to capitalise on the short-term opportunity created by recent stock market volatility within the global financial sector. Time is ticking for anyone interested, as the fund closes today.

Meanwhile Irish Life has just introduced its Global Select Fund to the market, which comprises 40 well-known large cap companies. Global Select is aimed at investors who have extensive portfolios and who already have a working knowledge of investing in shares. However, more cautious investors can also access the fund through Irish Life's Global Select Protected Tracker, which launches tomorrow.

Irish Life has also just launched Tomorrow's World, a fund that invests in companies that place a strong emphasis on corporate responsibility, sustainability and environmental issues.

In February, online bank RaboDirect added three new funds to fill gaps in its already extensive product suite - the Robeco Telecom Services Equities fund, the Robeco Food & Agri Equities fund and a euro version of the Blackrock Merrill Lynch (MLIIF) Global Allocation fund.

There are also plans afoot to introduce sustainable funds and a number of open-ended capital-guaranteed funds over the coming months.

As of this week, Standard Life is offering its Synergy pension customers the opportunity to access gold and other commodities through exchange-traded funds (securities that track indices and can be traded like shares). Synergy investors can now also obtain green investment exposure through a Global Clean Energy Fund, a Global Water Fund and a Timber and Forestry Fund.

In the coming weeks, National Irish Bank will be launching a new Alternative Danske Investment Fund offering retail clients exposure to asset classes such as commodities and infrastructure.

Hibernian has launched the second series of its Euro Financials fund, which invests in European banking, insurance and financial stocks.

In addition, it has also collaborated with Merrion Stockbrokers to introduce a completely new offering, the Hibernian Merrion European Value fund, which follows a value approach and focuses on companies with low price-to-earnings and low price-to- net cash flow ratios.