Australia's mandated superannuation system continues to attract global managers despite the global market crisis.
And while some investment banks have closed up their entire asset management businesses, recent media reports highlight that on the whole global investment managers remain committed to the Australian market.
But for Australian manager Five Oceans, local managers are just as well placed to manage global mandates on behalf of local investors.
"It's all about your process. We have a team here based in one place. We go out and come back and prepare a portfolio. It's called a 'one roof approach' and it's a concept that we subscribe to," Five Oceans chief executive Ross Youngman said.
Globalisation and technology allow managers to get a deep insight into companies despite their location, according to Youngman.
"We don't rely on stockbrokers to feed us a story about a company. Rather, we build the case independently," he said.
"As part of this process we take five to six trips a year, we attend global conferences. This allows us to build information about stocks that is quite different to the way overseas people tend to do things."
A former Australian prime minister once described Australia's relative isolation from the rest of the world in not so favourable terms.
But for Five Ocean's chief investment officer Chris Selth, Australia's position in the world allows managers to not succumb to group thinking, which is something that is prevalent in some financial global centres.
This has been particularly crucial under the current global crisis.
"The crisis has shown the danger of group thinking. Investors, however, are always looking for independent insight from their managers," Selth said.
"We have been met with great interest from overseas investors. We ask the sort of questions that are different from other managers. We actually have a voice."
For Selth, this independent voice has created an Australian style that includes a research process that is "self-contained".
"In operating in Australia we may not be first to the punch with a phone call from a stockbroker or investment banker. As a result, we get a natural evolution of a process that is rooted in deeper research."
Some Australian fund managers seem well positioned to manage global portfolios, according to research from Zenith Investment Partners.
For the year to 31 May 2009, The Five Oceans Wholesale World Fund posted a negative 0.41 per cent compared to the MSCI World ex Australia index of negative 22.1 per cent.
During the same period, Australian manager Platinum posted a 9.39 per cent return for its international fund, while fellow local manager Magellan delivered a negative 2.58 per cent for its global fund.
For asset consultant Frontier Investment Consulting, it all comes down to the quality of the manager regardless of geographic location.
"It is possible for locally-based managers to manage global portfolios if they have the right team and right resources," Frontier senior consultant Allison Hill said.
"But in the end it comes down to the quality of the manager, their processes and their team regardless of where they are located."
