Investments which are listed on the stock exchange (ASX). The ASX creates a market for buyers and
sellers of shares in listed equities providing liquidity for investors.
Listed managed fund investments are dynamic with the price being affected not only by their
performance of the fund itself but also by movements on the stock exchange in general.
Listed investments include:
a) direct shares
As a shareholder you participate in the company’s performance via dividends (income) and /or
growth in share price. Company shares are available across a wide range of investment sectors
such as mining and resources, financial and industrials. Australian company shares also offer tax
effective income via dividends with attached imputation credits.
b) listed managed investment schemes
These are managed funds which are listed on the stock exchange. An example here may be a
listed property trust as a managed fund (which invests in underlying property investments) which is
able to be bought and sold on the stock market.
c) listed investment companies (LICs)
Listed investment companies are managed by investment professionals and invest in a portfolio of
assets such as local and international shares, infrastructure assets and private equity. In this way
they are similar to managed funds, but there are important differences. While managed funds are
unit trusts where the units are bought and sold through a fund manager, listed investment
companies are companies investing in shares that can be traded on the stock-market through a
broker. They generally have lower fees than managed funds but the skill of the manager is
important and it can be difficult to get commercial research on these types of investments.
d) exchange traded funds (ETFs)
Index funds listed on a stock exchange.
