Offshore flows, including a contribution from NZ investors, helped the ASX-listed multi-affiliate funds distribution firm, Pinnacle Investment Management, to pass the A$100 billion milestone during the last half of 2023.
The Pinnacle half-year report filed last week shows international net flows topped A$3 billion during the six months ending December 31 compared to A$1.4 billion sourced from Australian investors.
Pinnacle has teams and underlying managers based in both the UK and US with the offshore contingent adding some A$8 billion in net flows over the last three-and-a-half years, the investor update says.
Non-Australian investors now account for A$14 billion of the total Pinnacle funds under management.
In 2017, the business also targeted NZ for growth, hiring David Batty as head of distribution.
Batty said the subset of Pinnacle managers available on this side of the Tasman now look after more than A$2 billion on behalf of NZ retail, wholesale and institutional investors
The firm has 15 boutique managers on its roster in total with handful of names including Hyperion, Antipodes, Metrics and Coolabah active in the NZ market: the four have also launched portfolio investment entity (PIE) vehicles in association with FundRock NZ.
As well, Pinnacle markets the Australian global listed property specialist, Resolution Capital, to NZ investors. ANZ Investments awarded Resolution a large mandate in 2019, launching a stand-alone PIE version two year’s later.
Several other Pinnacle names including ‘high conviction’ equities firm, Firetrail, and Riparian have dabbled in the NZ market while a couple of newcomers – the UK-based Aikya and Canadian global small-cap Langdon – are eyeing up a visit.
Another affiliate – private equity and venture capital manager, Five V – has built some momentum in NZ with significant flows into its recent Fund V, too, even establishing a small office here last November led by Murray Schnuriger.
Both Metrics and the alternative fixed income specialist, Coolabah, have also put boots on the ground here, Batty said. Private debt manager, Metrics, opened an Auckland office in 2020 while Coolabah has just staffed-up in NZ – hiring former Hobson Wealth head of fixed income, James Caughey, as country head and portfolio management director.
Caughey served as investment strategist for Alvarium Wealth before joining Hobson last February, following an 11-year stint with pioneering local hedge fund-of-funds manager, NZAM. Alvarium bought NZAM in 2018 while Hobson sold to Forsyth Barr at the end of last year.
Coolabah, founded by Christopher Joye, is on an upswing since launching in NZ in 2021 with its now four PIE funds managing over $60 million with a strong pipeline of commitments, Batty said.
In December, the Australian firm inked a three-season sponsorship deal with the Super Rugby champion Crusaders.
Boasting almost A$9.7 billion under management as at the end of last year, Coolabah is now sixth-largest in the Pinnacle suite headed by Metrics (A$16 billion): Hyperion and Resolution sit about equal second with A$13 billion apiece.
Pinnacle reported net profit after tax of A$30.2 million for the six months to December 31, about on par with the first half of 2023 despite reporting net outflows of A$1.5 billion over the earlier period.
The group’s share price bumped up almost 9 per cent following the half-year results to A$10.84.
Australian investment industry veteran, Ian Macoun, founded Pinnacle in 2008 after establishing the country’s first ‘multi-boutique’ operation, Perennial.