First State unveils Australian Growth fund

First State has launched an offshore Australian Growth fund focusing on large-cap companies, headed up by Naz Ressas.

The dollar-denominated First State Australian Growth fund is a concentrated portfolio of 25-30 large-cap stocks, benchmarked against the S&P/ASX 100 index.

The Dublin-domiciled fund may also invest in companies that are incorporated or have the majority of their economic activity in Australia but are listed elsewhere in the world.

"Solid economic conditions in Australia are driving demand for an Australian equities based product in other markets around the world and our team, with its extensive experience in this area, is well-placed to deliver on this requirement," said Gary Withers, regional managing director for EMEA.

‘We believe it is the right time to enter the UK, European and Asian markets with this type of fund and are expecting it to generate good interest from investors," he added.

Ressas is a portfolio manager within the company's Australian equities team. His Sydney-based team has about $12.7bn in its Australian share portfolios.

He joined First State in 2006 from UBS Global Asset Management where he was senior analyst for three years.