The Challenger Financial Services Australian equities team, headed by Challenger head of equities Peter Greentree, will leave the company after the establishment of new boutique Alphinity Investment Management.

The departing team, which will stop managing money on 9 July, includes equities analysts Michael Beavis, Karen Towle and Christie Loftus.

Challenger announced on 5 July that it had established a new Australian equity boutique, consisting of the former Alliance Australia Growth team.

The new managers, which are headed by former AllianceBernstein director of Australian equities Johan Carlberg, will take over the management of Challenger's Australian Share Fund, Australian Select Share Fund and the Socially Responsive Share Fund.

The three funds had approximately $1 billion in funds under management (FUM), according to Standard & Poor's (S&P) Fund Services.

The change in team also means a change in investment approach in the Australian share funds, and will see Challenger adopt a growth strategy based on the assumption that a company's potential earnings growth will drive the share price.

"The appointment of Carlberg and the three analysts to a new boutique within Challenger is a significant change, not only in team and structure but style as well," S&P Fund Services analyst Simone Arblaster said.

"We held the team in high regard while with AllianceBernstein, but believe it is appropriate to give them time to settle into their roles," she said.

Both S&P and Morningstar put the three funds on hold after the announcement of the new boutique.
 
In May this year, Challenger split out its Australian Equities Income Fund, which had about $670 million in FUM at the time, into boutique manager Merlon Capital Partners, led by Neil Margolis.