Boston-headquartered investment firm, MFS, has named James Langlands as head of wholesale for Australia and NZ to replace Ross Cartwright.
Langlands, who previously served a similar role for BNP Paribas Asset Management in Australia, takes on point-man duties for the MFS product range available to advisers, private wealth managers and other wholesale clients in the region as well as liaising with researchers. Cartwright shifted to the London-based MFS Investment Solutions Group last October.
MFS currently offers eight Australian unit trusts to the wholesale market covering both fixed income and equities; the firm also provides access to its wider global strategies for institutional investors in Australasia.
The manager has several cornerstone institutional clients in NZ, notably ANZ Investments, while also partnering with the Investment Services Group subsidiary, Clarity Funds, in 2017 to launch a global equities fund as a portfolio investment entity for retail clients.
In total, MFS manages about A$28 billion on behalf of Australian and NZ investors and A$980 billion globally.
Prior to his stint at BNP Paribas, Langlands spent 15 years at BlackRock Australia in various roles including as head of wealth advisory and wholesale. At MFS he will work alongside the recently appointed client relationships associate director, Anna Martin.
Langlands reports to Marian Poirier, MFS Australia senior managing director.
“James’ knowledge and understanding of the distribution landscape evolving across the region is exceptional, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the team,” Poirier said in a release. “This is an important hire for our business and reinforces our commitment to serving wholesale clients across the region with best-in-class investment solutions. This is underpinned by our company-wide focus on sustainability.”
Elsewhere last week, Andy Sowerby – a familiar face to NZ investors during his time as chief of Legg Mason Australasia (now part of the Franklin Templeton group) – has resurfaced as head of client group ex-Japan APAC region for the newly branded Allspring Global Investments.
The former Wells Fargo asset management group was rebranded as Allspring last July following a buy-out by US private equity firms GTCR and Reverence Capital (also a part-owner of Russell Investments).
In a statement, Joe Sullivan, Allspring chief (and ex Legg Mason global head), said: “Our international client base is strategically important to us, and investing further to expand our value proposition and better serve these markets is a priority for Allspring. Andy’s hire is an important one as we seek to grow and enhance our international footprint.”
Sowerby, who doubled as Legg Mason APAC ex-Japan chief, resigned from the US-listed multi-affiliate firm in July 2020 as new owner, Franklin Templeton, took possession.
Before assuming the regional and country head roles for Legg Mason, he spent 11 years as global head of distribution for one of its affiliate managers, Martin Currie.
Allspring boasts about US$575 billion under management (including US$91 billion sourced from subsidiary investment advisory firm, Galliard Capital Management).
“With global reach and a full suite of investment capabilities, I believe that Allspring has much to offer,” Sowerby said in the release. “With the formation of the new company comes a fresh energy and impetus but with the benefits of scale, heritage and deep resources.”
He reports to Allspring head of international client group, Deirdre Flood.
Back in NZ, boutique consulting firm, Makao Investments, has hired Ruth Thorburn in a new analyst role, joining founders Noah Schiltknecht and John Horrell in the business.
Thorburn officially joined Makao late last year after a short turn at ASB as a commercial assistant. She also held a couple of intern roles in the Australian financial industry including a two-month gig with investment consulting stalwart, JANA.
Schiltknecht and Horrell, both Russell Investments alumni, formed Makao in 2019 with the consulting business quickly establishing a client base – notably winning the investment advisory mandate for the Wealthpoint group.
Last November Makao also signed on to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, adding to the 36 other NZ organisations on the list.