MLC Asset Management has announced the appointment of Grant Mizens and Ben McCaw as joint heads of its capital markets research team and co-portfolio managers of Choice products.
The appointments will be an internal transition, as both Mr Mizens and Dr McCaw are already co-portfolio managers of MLC’s suite of multi-managers.
According to MLC, the duo will work alongside chief investment officer Dan Farmer, head of strategy and equities Stanley Yeo, and the broader investment team of 46 people as the organisation continues its transition from heritage offers to a combined solution.
Mr Farmer, who both Mr Mizens and Dr McCaw will be reporting to, commented on the investment team restructure: “Grant and Ben have a deep understanding of constructing multi-manager portfolios combined with an already strong working relationship.”
“The appointments of Grant and Ben reflect our established succession plan and we are privileged to have such exceptional depth of talent within the business.”
Specifically, Mr Mizens serves as a portfolio manager in the capital markets research team and is responsible for asset allocation work, including scenarios and asset class modelling, across its diversified portfolios.
Mr Mizens first joined MLC as a graduate in 2006 and has remained with the business since then, including a stint at JANA Investment Advisers in 2014.
Meanwhile, Dr McCaw is a senior portfolio manager also in the capital markets research team, holding portfolio management responsibility across several of MLC’s diversified funds as well as the direct Australian share allocations in multi-asset solution Inflation Plus.
He first served as a senior analyst with MLC in 2008 before his appointment to portfolio manager in 2012. Prior to this, Dr McCaw had worked as a sell-side equity analyst in Singapore and at a boutique stockbroker in Sydney.
“We continue to have one of the most well-resourced, highly experienced, proven investment teams in the industry which has provided quality outcomes for clients through investment cycles,” Mr Farmer added.
The two appointments follow Al Clark, the previous head of diversified portfolio management of Choice products and head of the capital markets research team, announcing his departure from MLC Asset Management to pursue other opportunities. MLC said that Mr Clark will remain with the business to ensure an orderly transition over the coming weeks.
“We would like to thank Al for his valued contribution over the years and he leaves with our best wishes. Importantly, we are able to provide continuity for clients and stakeholders as our robust investment process and depth of talent reduces key person dependencies,” Mr Farmer concluded.
