FIIG chief executive Mark Paton said the move marked a “new era” for the Australian investment scene – with many retail investors formerly priced out of the corporate bond market.
“Just five years ago the corporate bond market was closed to personal investors and dominated by large financial institutions,” Mr Paton said.
“FIIG opened the corporate bond market to personal investors with its innovative Direct Bond service, first by dropping the minimum parcel size from $500,000 to $50,000 and now to just $10,000.
“This puts direct corporate bond ownership within the reach of a vast majority of retiring investors and SMSF trustees.”
FIIG also noted The Australian Taxation Office reported that in 2010, 75 per cent of SMSFs had investable assets of $200,000 or more.
“This latest improvement in accessibility means that people with investable assets of $200,000 or more can make a prudent allocation of 25 per cent of their portfolio to fixed income assets with appropriate diversification,” Mr Paton said.
