Geared strategies

Geared share funds offer a simple and efficient way to amplify potential investment returns. Geared share funds make it easier for investors to gain increased market exposure without the complexities of direct borrowing.

Help your clients amplify their exposure to assets

Gearing within the fund boosts market exposure without direct borrowing, helping your clients pursue growth with a simple, effective strategy.

Institutional-grade gearing, delivered at scale

Our size and access to institutional borrowing rates help reduce the cost of gearing giving your clients more value from their investment strategy.

Your clients’ assets are not held as collateral

Our borrowing is backed by CFS as an institution not your clients’ assets. That means we maintain control, even during market volatility.

Why CFS?

Market leader

CFS is Australia’s largest provider of geared funds, with approximately $15bn ¹ across various strategies.

Proven expertise

Our team has successfully managed every major market cycle since 1997.

Unsecured lending

Unlike many geared products in the market, clients’ shares are not held as collateral, providing CFS with control of the assets in any market conditions.

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Why consider geared investments?

Magnify potential returns

Gearing can accelerate wealth creation by amplifying investment returns and compounding growth over time. If returns exceed inflation and interest costs, gearing can help preserve and grow real wealth.

Tax efficiency

Increased franking credits can improve overall returns.²

Diversification made easy

Geared funds allow greater exposure to equities with less upfront capital, freeing up resources to diversify across other asset classes.

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Understand the risks

Gearing magnifies both gains and losses. It’s essential to consider:

Amplified drawdowns during market volatility - Gearing can also magnify losses during market downturns, with the fund likely to drop in line with its gearing ratio (about 2.2x).
Underperformance in choppy or flat markets - Geared funds may lag behind their benchmark after market fluctuations, due to debt management and rebalancing requirements. Even when the overall market is flat, borrowing costs can mean negative returns for geared strategies.
Sequencing risk for clients nearing retirement - While staying invested matters, timing is crucial with geared funds, sequencing risk means market downturns near retirement can have a bigger impact.

CFS geared funds are designed to manage these risks with institutional-grade lending, diversified portfolios, and expert oversight.

Gearing strategies webinar

Missed our recent webinar? Tim Sanderson, Senior Technical Manager at CFS, unpacked how gearing strategies can be applied to client portfolios—clearly and practically. Watch now.

CFS FirstTech webinar case study

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Help your clients harness the power of gearing

Geared investing combines investor capital with borrowed funds to amplify exposure and accelerate growth. It suits long-term investors with strong risk tolerance.

Use our flyer to support client conversations and explain the benefits and risks clearly.

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Gearing solutions available with CFS

CFS Geared Share Fund

Designed to magnify long-term capital growth by borrowing to invest in large, high-quality Australian companies, this fund aims to outperform the S&P/ASX 100 over rolling seven-year periods backed by disciplined gearing and proven investment expertise.

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CFS Geared Index Australia Share Fund

A geared index strategy designed to closely track the S&P/ASX 100 while magnifying long-term returns through disciplined risk analysis and investment in leading Australian companies.

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CFS Geared Index Global Share Fund

A geared global index strategy designed to closely match the MSCI All Country World (ex Australia) Index while magnifying returns through borrowing backed by disciplined risk analysis and selective currency hedging.

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