APRA - the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. It oversees banks, credit unions, building societies, general insurance and reinsurance companies, life insurance, friendly societies, and most members of the superannuation industry.
ASIC – the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which is the body that administers the Financial Services Reform Act and acts as the consumer protection regulator for financial services.
Asset Allocation – the breakdown in percentage terms of where a fund’s monies are invested. Please refer to the UCA Cash Portfolio, UCA Growth Portfolio and UCA Australian Equities Portfolio Offer Document and the Uniting Growth Fund Offer Document for Asset Allocation under their respective Investment Mandates.
ASX – Australian Securities Exchange
ATO – Australian Taxation Office
BOMAR – Board of Mission and Resourcing. A board of the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania whose task is to weave the Church’s vision for ministry and mission with the resources to support that ministry.
Corporations Act 2001 – National legislation dealing with the regulation of companies and financial products, amongst other things.
Defensive Assets - assets such as fixed interest and/or cash which earn lower returns than growth assets and, although subject to fluctuations in value, are generally redeemable for their face value at maturity.
Disclosure Document or Product Disclosure Statement – a written body of information that explains an offer of a financial product with content regulated by the Corporations Act 2001.
Discount Securities - non-interest bearing money market instruments, issued at a discount from face value (or nominal value), with the holder receiving face value when the security matures. Discount securities carry no coupon, or annual rate of interest.
Fixed Interest Securities – any security which has a fixed flow of income is known as a fixed interest security.
Growth Assets – a term given to assets such as shares and property which over the longer term are expected to provide investment returns exceeding inflation.
ICR – The indirect cost ratio (ICR) for a fund, is the ratio of the fund's management costs, that are not deducted directly from a member's or product holder's account, to the fund's total average net assets.
Investment Mandate – please refer to asset allocation in this glossary section
TCC – Taxation Concession Charities as defined by ATO.
Listed Property Trust – a collective investment vehicle which owns real property. Unit prices of Listed Property Trusts are quoted on a stock exchange.
MER – Refer to ICR.
Negative Screen – companies or areas of business that for ethical reasons are excluded from our investment universe. Details of excluded companies can be found in Ethical Investment Guidelines.
Offer Document – Outlines the terms and conditions of UCA Cash Portfolio, UCA Growth Portfolio, UCA Australian Equities Portfolio and the Uniting Growth Fund (in separate documents). Please note that neither the UCA Cash Portfolio, UCA Growth Portfolio and UCA Australian Equities Portfolio Offer Document nor the Uniting Growth Fund Offer Document are Product Disclosure Statements governed by the Corporations Act 2001. However, their contents have been prepared having regard to the content requirements for a Product Disclosure Statement under the Act. Application for units in UCA Cash Management Fund & UCA Growth Fund and / or in the Uniting Growth Fund can only be made on the application forms attached to the respective Offer Document.
S&P/ASX300 Index - The index provides additional depth and coverage to the S&P/ASX 200 while maintaining strict liquidity guidelines. It provides up to an additional 100 small-cap stocks to the S&P/ASX 200. Companies removed from the index are replaced when a suitable candidate is available, or at the quarterly review. The S&P/ASX 300 does not necessarily contain 300 companies. Please refer to Standard and Poors for more details.
Responsible Entity - A licensed entity or body that operates a managed investment scheme.
Trustee – the person (or company) responsible for holding and investing property for the benefit of another (the beneficiaries of the trust). The trustee must hold the property in accordance with the terms of the trust and the law.
The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tasmania) - are the body corporates incorporated by statute for the Synods of Victoria and Tasmania.
UCA Funds & UCA Funds Management – are the business names of the three UCAFM companies UCA Funds Management Limited (ABN 46 102 469 821), UCA Cash Management Fund Ltd (ABN 41 075 948 444); and UCA Growth Fund Limited (ABN 39 075 948 435). All three companies are ultimately owned and controlled by The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Victoria) and The Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (Tasmania).