ABN Amro Asset Management has responded to attempts to poach senior members of its Australian equity team by devising a new incentive structure, to which its star analysts have broadly agreed.
It is understood that senior members of ABN Amro AM’s team, including head of Australian equities George Clapham, and senior analyst Mark Nathan, had been receptive to overtures from backers Fortis will be acquiring (amongst other parts) ABN AMRO Asset Management, globally. As there is no Fortis Investments in Australia, this should be quite straight forward and we expect business to continue as usual. In relation to the “;interest”; in the Australian Equity team, we have been conscious for some time that they would have been an attractive target for a third party, given their success over the last few years. As a result, we have been working with the team to set up a more appropriate structure to reflect their contribution to our business. We have recently agreed on the terms of this structure with the team and will finalise the arrangement shortly.
A managed investment scheme holding 20 per cent or more in unlisted assets is deemed an illiquid scheme and is restricted from providing frequent liquidity, but there is no formal limit on how much super funds can allocate to these asset classes. The Conexus Institute writes this is a special privilege given to APRA-regulated super funds that should not be taken for granted.
David Bell and Geoff WarrenFebruary 6, 2025