Inside Money: Investment products cross the digital divide

Australian firms have been slow to sign up to MBIE's new Disclose website. Photo: Brett Phibbs.

As reported here last December, the digital disclosure era has arrived for New Zealand's financial services industry.

But to date only a handful of Australian products have been posted on the shiny new Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) 'Disclose' website.

An MBIE spokesperson assured me local issuers would have some products on Disclose soon but for the time-being the four Australian listings - up there due to the Mutual Recognition regime between the trans-Tasman buddies - will have to serve as exemplars.

And while the current four items on display will probably appeal only to connoisseurs of financial product documents, the simple structure and depth of disclosure on the website is impressive.

Investors can check out two offerings from Australian boutique funds firm, Contango. Although, it might be best to skip the Contango Income Generator documents, as the offer - first made on December 5 last year - was withdrawn on December 19.

Anybody interested in the Standard Life Investments Corporate Bond Trust (bear in mind there is a $50,000 minimum investment) set aside a week for reading the docs, which include: a product disclosure document (PDS); a guide to the PDS; the fund's constitution; a supplemental deed, and; a second supplemental deed.

For sheer glitz, though, the Rushton Global Market Neutral Fund PDS is my top pick on Disclose this week. Rushton is not a household name in NZ, or in Australia, but the founders seem to have a nice, modern Brisbane-style, house themselves (including a triple-dolphin).

The Rushton 'Letter from the investment manager' - published in pirate-style italics font and displayed as an ancient scroll - is also a classic of its kind.

At some point within the next two years just about every investment product available in New Zealand will be on Disclose: I will be reading between the lines.