The funds management arm of European banking heavyweight Credit Agricole, Credit Agricole Asset Management (CAAM), will certify its Australian presence with the launch two new funds in late June.
The funds, a global fixed income offering and an extraction from CAAM’s value-at-Risk (VaR) series, have won mandates from a number of super funds, institutional investors and platforms, Richard Borysiewicz, CAAM country head Australia and New Zealand, said. But Borysiewicz would not tell details of the new clients. The VaR 8 fund aimed to return cash plus 4 per cent, while the global fixed income vehicle aimed to return 200 basis points above the rolling global aggregate, Borysiewicz said. Frederic Destor, CAAM head of business support, joined Borysiewicz in Sydney from Paris on May 28. The duo will begin working out of a newly-leased office on 5 June. Elsewhere, CAAM is undergoing a global re-branding exercise, with the aim of communicating to investors that “asset management is more than figures” and directly influences quality of life, Borysiewicz said. Before arriving in Australia in January, CAAM secured three mandates, totaling $1 billion, from Australian investors including AMP Future Directions and Mercer’s multi-manager offering. The CAAM VaR series, ranging from VaR 20 to VaR 2, invests in global and emerging bond markets, alpha transport, and global equity, currency, credit and arbitrage markets. VaR 20 aims to return cash plus 10 per cent and holds a greater concentration of equities than VaR 2, which favours bonds and targets a cash plus 1 per cent return.
AustralianSuper’s appointment of a general manager, retirement to replace Shawn Blackmore, which follows ART's redeployment of Kathy Vincent to chief operating officer, shows that mega funds are back-pedalling on the strategy of having dedicated retirement C-suite executives. The role had been touted as the next big thing in super funds' organisational structures, but experts say what matters is there is senior accountability for decumulation.
Darcy SongDecember 4, 2024
