Morningstar awards gold rating to Zurich fund

In a statement, Zurich announced that its Australian Property Securities Fund – which has a ‘highly recommended’ rating from Zurich and Lonsec – had been awarded a ‘gold’ rating by Morningstar.

The fund provides investors access to high-quality listed Australian property trusts and is actively managed by Renaissance Property Securities, Zurich’s fund manager partner.

Commenting on the announcement, Zurich head of savings and investments Matthew Drennan said the company “couldn’t be prouder of our long-term partnership with Renaissance”.

“This upgrade reflects a successful track record spanning more than a decade, and it’s wonderful to see the continued industry recognition for the team and their time-tested value approach,” Mr Drennan said.

According to Morningstar’s Global Fund Report, analysts felt “particularly impressed by these managers and view them as among the very best in the Australian listed property space”.

Furthermore, they had demonstrated “proven adherence to a successful value strategy and the ongoing depth of insight shown by the team have ensured its place among the very best A-REIT strategies we cover”.

The fund was considered “among the best performers in this space”, the report said.

“Impressively, the [fund managers] consistently demonstrates differentiated investment insights, and few managers have shown their dedication to visiting management, inspecting properties, and researching industry trends,” it said.