Confusion over Astarra external managers

Managers deny mandates

By Wouter Klijn
Thu 22 Oct 2009

External managers of the Astarra Balanced Fund were not given mandates.

Confusion has arisen over the relationship between Astarra Asset Management and external managers of its balanced fund.

Although Astarra explains in its investment approach that it uses a mix of "external asset class managers", a number of these managers said they had never been given mandates.

Instead, Astarra invested their clients' money in the external managers through platforms, which some market participants described as "a very expensive way of running a fund".

In the May update of the fund, the most recent update available, Astarra said 6.81 per cent of the portfolio was allocated to Concord.

"We definitely don't have Astarra as one of our mandated clients," Concord Capital operations manager Darren Grantham told InvestorDaily.

"They would be one of many clients that invest through the Macquarie platform into the Concord Australian Equity Trust."

Ausbil Dexia was mentioned as being allocated 9.43 per cent of the portfolio. Chief executive Paul Xiradis also said Ausbil Dexia had never been given a mandate by Astarra.

"The only relationship that is there is via an investment [by Astarra] into a particular product," Xiradis said.

Astarra head of distributions Peter Woods said he could not comment on the manager structure.

"There is a media ban," he said.

Several media reports on Wednesday said ASIC had issued a stop order to Trio Capital, formerly named Astarra Capital, and had instructed the company to remove the product disclosure statements on Astarra Asset Management's funds from its website.

The Astarra Balanced Fund has over $70 million in funds under management and Xiradis said Ausbil Dexia's exposure to the fund was small.

"It is very insignificant in the whole scheme of things," Xiradis said. "As a portion of the fund it is incredibly small."

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