ASF Group has acquired a 75 per cent stake in Balmoral Capital, a Sydney-based corporate advisory firm led by investment banker Alan Humphris.
The firm has been renamed ASF Balmoral.
ASF Group, which is a holding company for a number of energy and resources projects and property marketing activities, said the acquisition would enable it to expand its funds management operations.
"ASF Balmoral ... is expanding its investment banking activities to include funds management, initially by representing specialist Asian investment funds which have an emphasis on China to institutional and sophisticated investors in Australia," the company said yesterday.
The firm is planning to distribute the Pure China Fund from Hong Kong-based manager Marco Polo Pure Asset Management to institutional investors in Australia.
The fund invests in Chinese mainland equities, or China A-shares, and is managed by Marco Polo chief executive Aaron Boesky.
The fund has had a volatile performance record since its establishment in 2004.
Over the last three years, the fund had a negative performance of 10.9 per cent, but over a five-year period it had a positive return of 26.3 per cent.
ASF Balmoral has hired former Macquarie Real Estate regional business manager Sally Humphris for the team. She will be responsible for the distribution of the new fund.
ASF director Geoff Baker will also move over to the new firm.
Baker has a background as corporate lawyer and spent 10 years advising on corporate transactions in China.
The group already runs the ASF China Property Fund.
