SINGAPORE - Australia-listed crowdfunding platform CoAssets on Thursday (July 26)launched the CoAssets Stirling Fort Absolute Return Fund, which will undertake collateralised lending.

The fund gives accredited investors a way to invest in the regional SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) lending space. It will engage mainly in SME bridging loans, with loan tenures generally less than 12 months, CoAssets said.

It said: "Fund performance is unlikely to be affected by the equities or interest rate markets. The bulk of the portfolio will be made up of loans to SMEs that are able to pledge hard assets while the rest of the portfolio will be made up of loans to SMEs that allow the fund to hold a charge over their shares, earnings, or contract receivables."

CoAssets said it aims to grow the Asset under Management (AUM) to $100 million over the next five years.

The appointed fund manager is Singapore-based Stirling Fort Capital. Stirling is a multi-family office established in 2014.