Advance Asset Management has made changes to the line-up of its investment managers in order to ensure stability in an ongoing volatile market.
The changes in target allocation of existing investment managers include the addition of boutique fund manager Bennelong Australian Equity Partners to the list.
“As part of our diligent investment process, our investment team has identified a new strong, high-quality investment manager for the Advance Australian Shares Multi-Blend Fund – Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (Bennelong),” the company said.
“Bennelong’s attributes are well suited to the current investment environment, as demonstrated by its performance over recent times.”
The changes also include a new mandate for BT Investment Management to replace its core strategy with a higher conviction strategy that offers a greater investment return objective and blending benefits within the overall fund.
Ausbil Dexia, a joint venture between its Australian-based founders and Belgian-based Dexia Asset Management, has also been removed from the fund owing to uncertainty in the current sovereign debt and banking crisis within Europe.
Analysis by Advance’s investment team shows a positive correlation between Bennelong and Ausbil Dexia, with both focusing on the earnings drivers of stock prices.
Advance also expresses uncertainty about how the partnership with Ausbil Dexia will be resolved.
“While we have a positive view of the investment management team at Ausbil, we have concerns over the potential distractions to Ausbil’s investment team and uncertainty about their long-term ownership,” it said.
An Advance senior spokesperson declined to make any further comment.
