Irish Life Indexed Pacific Basin

The Indexed Pacific Equity Fund invests mainly in Pacific equities, including shares from countries such as Singapore, South Korea and Australia. It is designed to hold the shares in the MSCI Pacific Ex Japan Index and aims to reflect the overall Pacific stock market rather than try to beat it. This means investors get broad exposure to large listed companies across the region.

The Indexed Pacific Equity Fund uses a passive investment style and aims to match the average return of the MSCI Pacific Ex Japan Index. It is managed by Irish Life Investment Managers. In simple terms, passive means it generally follows the index instead of picking stocks to try to outperform it.

The Indexed Pacific Equity Fund’s holdings include major names such as Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BHP Group, AIA Group, DBS Group Holdings and Westpac Banking Corp. Other top holdings include National Australia Bank, ANZ Group Holdings, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, Macquarie Group and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. This shows the fund has significant exposure to large financial and resource-related companies in the Pacific region.

The Indexed Pacific Equity Fund is exposed to equity market risk because it invests in shares, so its value can rise and fall with stock markets. It also uses securities lending, which can increase risk even though it may help generate extra return; securities lending means the fund temporarily lends out holdings to another party in exchange for a fee. Because it invests in Asian markets, there is also a one-day delay on switch requests due to trading and settlement time differences.

The Indexed Pacific Equity Fund may suit an investor who wants straightforward exposure to Pacific stock markets and is comfortable with the ups and downs of equity investing. It is aimed at people looking for market-like returns from the MSCI Pacific Ex Japan Index rather than active stock selection. The fund can appeal to investors who want broad regional diversification across Pacific companies.