Martin Currie Investment Management Ltd., which opened an office in Melbourne in 2008, has lost investment mandates from Asset Super, Mercer and TelstraSuper.
John Paul, Asset Super’s chief executive, says as of December, 2011, the $1.6 billion superannuation fund not longer uses Edinburgh-based Martin Currie to help manage $63 million of its money. The mandate was given by Asset Super to Martin Currie in June 2009.
“They were downgraded by (investment consultants) Mercer in the international equities space,” says Paul. “We’ve shared the money among (five) existing managers which has helped reduce costs.”
TelstraSuper gave a mandate worth $115 million to Martin Currie in 2009. Martin Currie invested the money on behalf of TelstraSuper outside Australia in a global fund.
“I don’t want to discuss it,” Belinda Curtis, head of international equities at Telstra Super, told i&t News, when asked whether the $11 billion fund was no longer using Martin Currie as an investment manager.
TelstraSuper gives outside asset managers most of its money to invest.
But it has increased its own management of its Australian stock investments. TelstraSuper also manages about a quarter of its $1 billion in cash investments internally i&t News’ sister publication Investment Magazine reported in October.
The size of the Mercer mandate, Mercer also has an investment management business, is unknown. But it is thought to be considerably bigger than the one given to Martin Currie by TelstraSuper.
Mercer declined to comment.
Kimon Kouryialas, country head Australia for Martin Currie, didn’t return calls seeking comment.
