Founded in 1987, Intech has four decades of experience in constructing systematic, benchmark-aware portfolios aimed at providing pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and foundations with risk-adjusted returns.
Intech has some US$15 billion in assets under management (AUM). Although it is based in the US, Australia is noted as a critical market for the firm, accounting for US$5.1 billion in AUM, or around a third of Intech’s overall AUM.
With this partnership, Ironbark said its local distribution strength and Intech’s global research pedigree will work in tandem to provide Australian investors with access to Intech’s global quantitative equity capabilities through a longstanding local partner.
Speaking on the announcement, Intech chief executive Dr José Marques said: “Our partnership with Ironbark reflects a shared commitment to extend that same institutional discipline and innovation to a broader community of Australian investors.”
Meanwhile, Alex Donald, Ironbark CEO of investment solutions, noted that ongoing demand for robust capabilities from institutional investors “complement their existing mandates, prioritise transparency, and enhance portfolio resilience by providing a potentially uncorrelated source of alpha”.
“Intech’s disciplined dual-engine investment approach seeks to provide these benefits to investors, and we are delighted to be expanding our range of institutional capabilities through this partnership,” Donald said.
Intech board member, portfolio manager and head of Australia, Dr Adrian Banner added: “Partnering with Ironbark allows us to build on our foundation and support a broader set of Australian investors and I’m excited to see our approach made more widely available through the partnership.”
Looking at Intech’s internal philosophy, the firm has done extensive research on and pioneered the use of the Stochastic Portfolio Theory. And unlike others that might use conventional stock-picking or factor investing, Ironbark explained that Intech’s approach is designed to capture structural sources of return that might be overlooked by others.
Further explaining the firm’s approach, Intech chief investment officer Dr Ryan Stever said it utilises fundamentals and volatility as independent sources of return to complement existing strategies with the aim of providing resilience across market regimes.
“At a time when equity markets are both highly concentrated and highly dispersed, we believe this dual-engine approach seeks to provide diversification benefits and complementary sources of return that may enhance long-term portfolio resilience.”
This follows Russell Investments’ partnership with Invest Blue, a partnered financial advice firm of Ironbark as of 2023, announced earlier this week as the firms look to expand private market access for Australian advised investors.
Through the partnership, the firms intend to launch a cornerstone portfolio utilising a separately managed account structure to help bridge the private market accessibility gap currently facing retail investors.
