Australian fund managers cool on IPOs

Australia’s money managers aren’t seeking to buy shares in initial public offerings where the risk is significantly higher than investing in cash were the annual return is about 6 per cent, say accountants and advisers HLB Mann Judd Australasian Association.

“A 6 per cent cash return versus significant risk; investors are happy to wait” rather than buy IPO stock, says Simon James, a partner at HLB Mann Judd.

“If cash returns less than 5 per cent then people may think about IPOs,” says James.

Still, International investors are increasingly attracted to Australian share sales as many of the companies that have their stock trading on the ASX have their operations outside the country in South America, Africa or Asia.

Many of the non-Australian companies listing on the ASX are miners.

“The profile of the investor base is increasingly international as they see the full life cycle of the product,” says Geoffrey Webster, a partner at HLB Mann Judd.

Webster says he expects a “pretty quiet first six months” for IPOs in Australia.