Johan Carlberg: Alphinity principal
AMP Capital has given a big leg-up to the Australian equities boutique Alphinity Investment Management through its Future Directions fund’s $2 billion domestic shares allocation. It has redeemed the mandate with its own fundamental long/short fund, following some staff moves, to fund the Alphinity mandate.
The AMP Capital Multi-Asset Group manages money across the spectrum of global asset classes in a best-of-breed process, recently reviewed the Australian equities component, with assistance from the inhouse advice research team.
A spokesperson said this followed some personnel departures among the AMP Capital long/short Australian equities team, whose mandate had been reallocated to Alphinity.
“We have known Alphinity’s investment team for many years and we hold their investment approach in good regard,” the spokesperson said.
The Australian equities component of the fund has retained Fidelity, Ironbark Karara, Schroders and Perennial Value for the active domestic shares allocation alongside the new mandate.
Alphinity is a value-oriented boutique which has five key managers led by portfolio manager and principal Johan Carlberg. The others are Bruce Smith, Stephane Andre, Andrew Martin and Shane Kelly. The team all worked together at AllianceBernstein prior to forming their own business in 2010. They won the Money Management/Lonsec fund manager of the year award just a year later.
The main Australian shares fund has averaged a return of 9.2 per cent, compared with the benchmark 7.9 per cent, since inception in July 2010. The firm’s concentrated and ESG funds and strategies based on the same process have also outperformed the benchmark in that time.
* Greg Bright is publisher of Investor Strategy News (Australia)