In his new role as senior vice president, business development, institutional, McLenaghan will work with Acadian’s distribution, client services and investment teams, focusing on aligning institutional investors’ objectives with the firm’s global capabilities.
Based in Acadian’s Sydney office, McLenaghan will report to Gill Savage, chief executive of Acadian Australia and head of Asia-Pacific.
Prior to joining the firm, McLenaghan was senior vice president and account manager for PIMCO as well as a variety of roles across IAG Asset Management, Challenger Financial, and Bankers Trust.
Speaking on the appointment, Savage said: “Matthew brings deep expertise in the institutional market and a network of long-standing industry relationships. His experience will be invaluable in enhancing our presence across the region and advancing our strategic objectives in Asia Pacific.”
McLenaghan added: “Acadian is recognised for its strength in quantitative investing and client-focused delivery. I look forward to building on these foundations and supporting the firm’s continued success across the institutional market in Australia and New Zealand.”
This announcement follows the firm’s launch of an emerging markets equity fund in June for wholesale investors – with CFS as its responsible entity – aiming to grant advisers access to a diverse portfolio of some 500 emerging market stocks.
Noting improved data coverage and reduced trading costs, the firm said emerging markets have become increasingly easier to invest in over the past decade, resulting in Acadian having $39 billion in emerging markets strategies within a total $189 billion in assets under management (AUM).
Acadian director of wholesale markets, Mark Mukundan, said at the time: “This fund has been designed to be a core emerging market holding, due to its high stock diversity, multifactor approach, and low stock-specific risk profile.
“It could also be a complementary and differentiating feature if positioned alongside higher risk concentrated strategies or a possible replacement for an index allocation, given the fund is actively managed and competitively priced at a management cost of 0.47 per cent which is lower than existing MSCI EM Index replication strategies.”
