Fidelity wins first Australian equities insto mandate

Fidelity International has won its first Australian equities institutional mandate, in the form of $150 million from State Super Financial Services.

Michael Ohlsson, managing director of Fidelity Investments Australia, said the mandate will be managed by Fidelity’s head of Australian Equities Paul Taylor and will mirror the Fidelity Australian Equities Fund, which Taylor has managed for the past three years. Ohlsson said the fund had outperformed its ASX 300 benchmark by 7.3 per cent per annum, pre-fees, since its inception in June 2003. With this win under its belt, Ohlsson said Fidelity would broaden its institutional presence in Australia. “Australian equities is going to be the key part of that push given that we now have reached that magical three year track record,” he said. Ohlsson said one of the keys to growth was to get asset consultants to put Fidelity on their recommended lists, which should prove easier now the Australian equities fund has passed the three year mark. He said research houses and assets consultants were in the process of going through either a first review of the fund or updating their ratings. He said the outcomes of these reviews would be critical for Fidelity, but he was confident they would be positive. Ohlsson sees a “good pipeline for institutional opportunities” between now and the end of the year.