Intech Investment Consulting has boosted the number of managers in its High Opportunities Trust (HOT) to nine, adding Hong Kong-based global equities manager Axiom Investment Management and US-based global equities boutique Altrinsic Global Advisers.

Axiom and Altrinsic join incumbents Marathon, Marvin and Palmer, Wellington, Bernstein, William Blair, Sands Capital and Pzena Investment Management to manage the international fund-of-funds, which has grown to over $800 million since its launch in September last year. According to Frank Sands, president of US-only growth manager Sands Capital, US equities is a “great place to be for Australian investors”. Visiting Australia last month, in conjunction with Intech, Sands said the outlook for growth in US equities was positive for the next five to 10 years. Sands Capital, which runs a concentrated high conviction portfolio of 25-30 stocks, currently manages about 12 per cent of HOT. For the year to October 1, 2005, the Intech High Opportunities Trust returned 15 per cent (gross of fees and running expenses). Sands Capital delivered 16 per cent (gross of fees) for the 12 months to September 30, 2005, outperforming its benchmark – the Russell 1000 Growth Index – by 4.4 percentage points. Representatives of Sands Capital, Pzena and US consultancy group CRA RogersCasey were in Australia late last month to promote HOT. InTech worked with CRA RogersCasey – its US research partner – to identify the international managers for HOT.