Boutique Australian Equities manager Antares Equities has today announced it has reached more than A$1bn of investor money in their Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) model portfolios.

Brendan Donohoe, General Manager of Antares Equities said, “This is a huge milestone for the Antares business,’’

“Antares has been a pioneer in the SMA space in Australia and we’re extremely pleased to see the fantastic growth of this hugely beneficial investment structure.”

“We’ve been running SMAs now since 2009, and in the last few years we’ve really seen a significant increase in their popularity, particularly in the last 12 months where we’ve seen close to a third of our investors’ money come in.”

SMAs offer a range of benefits for both advisers and investors. Investor benefits include having an individual share portfolio, which is designed by a professional investment manager, in which they own all the shares and have complete visibility of it.

From an adviser’s point of view, SMAs can provide an investment solution for clients that helps reduce much of the back office work required to run individual share portfolios.

Since launching their first SMA in 2009, Antares Equities has introduced more than 4 SMAs into the market. Among them are the income-focussed Antares Dividend Builder, the Core Opportunities Model Portfolio and the Listed Property Model Portfolio.

Last June, Antares Equities added the Ex-20 Australian Equities Model Portfolio to its suite of products, which has attracted strong investor interest.

“There is strong investor appetite for SMAs, and we will continue to build up our presence and product suite to ensure our strong market position,’’ said Mr Donohoe.