The partnership will see HSBC Global Asset Management manage First State Super’s initial investment of $500 million within a global multi-factor mandate, as well as the provision of research and modelling support to First State Super’s internal investment team.
HSBC said the terms of the arrangement are unique compared to a traditional partnership between a fund manager and asset owner as there is a clear separation between the investment mandate and research and development (R&D) support. While run in parallel, each service will maintain independence to enable First State Super’s internal team to receive R&D support in building their own capability in addition to HSBC Global Asset Management meeting the stated mandate objectives.
“We are thrilled that First State Super has entrusted us with such a significant partnership. We believe that arrangements of this type will become a global template for future similar partnerships as asset owners such as First State Super look to build out the capability of their teams,” HSBC Global Asset Management’s Australia head Geoffrey Pidgeon said.
Ross Barry, head of systematic and impact investing for First State Super, said having successfully developed an internal systematic investment capability in Australian shares in recent years, the super fund is now focused on building out the platform to manage part of its international shares.
“As a result, we have selected HSBC Global Asset Management as our, global systematic investment partner, the key being their ability to offer a broader relationship-focused solution rather than simply a product solution,” he said.
HSBC Global Asset Management is a global investment manager with over US$500 billion ($740 billion) under management. The firm has been managing active systematic strategies since 2004, with US$15.4 billion ($23 billion) under management (as at 31 March 19).
First State Super has over 760,000 members and $100 billion in assets under management.
