Irish investors get access to investment funds including gold, new energy and mining stocks

IRISH investors have been given access to a series of investment funds that include gold, new energy, world energy and mining stocks.

They will be accessed through global fund manager BlackRock and were launched here yesterday as part of Hibernian Aviva’s FundChoice strategy.

The aim is to give customers a better range of investment options by putting as wide a range of investment choices as possible before them.

These have been launched “following significant demand from retail and individual investors”, the group said.

BlackRock has $1.283 trillion (€918bn) in assets under management and its award-winning Natural Resources team is said to be one of the leading fund managers in this specialist field.

The four funds on offer have been cleared by the Financial Regulator and will be available to investors with a minimum investment of €10,000 for single premium and for regular premium and pension investors from €150 a month.

The funds include the BlackRock Global Funds (BGF) and the World Mining Fund.

“Despite the downturn and the volatility on financial markets, there remain opportunities for investors to capitalise on,” said Michael Gordon of Hibernian.

A significant rally in the new energy, mining and gold sectors has taken place lately and Gordon said the new offerings tap into those sectors.

Alex Hoctor-Duncan, head of British retail at BlackRock said the funds are managed by teams that have shown themselves “adept at navigating choppy waters not only in recent months, but over many years”.

“The current investing climate offers good opportunities for managers such as these with depth of experience and a proven investment process,” he said.