Clients of IFM Investors are to gain access to attractively priced active large-cap equities from mid-2016, after the industry fund-owned fund manager poached a nine-strong active equity team from AMP Capital.
Australian long-only active equity, Australian long-short equity and Asian long-short market neutral capabilities will bring IFM closer to a full-service equity offering.
Brett Himbury, chief executive of IFM Investors, told how the deal could mean discounts on active equities for clients who already use its existing offerings of enhanced passive Australian/global equities and Australian small caps.
“Clients in this low interest rate, highly competitive environment are wanting to get fees down and with a full-service package we are in a much stronger position to help with their core aspiration to achieve that.”
The nine team members were poached from AMP Capital after IFM Investors finalised a three-year plan in July which approved the addition of an active large-cap capability.
Himbury said the team, which at AMP Capital ran $14 billion across quant long, long short, enhanced index, value and Asia-Pacific market neutral, and which is led by Lachlan Davis, was aligned to IFM’s value set.
“Culturally we think they will fit well,” he said, describing IFM’s cultural values as an “unrelenting focus on the investor that comes with our ownership model”, as well as “authenticity and professionalism balanced with humility”.
In an announcement today acknowledging the loss of its quant team, AMP Capital has spoken of its new shared vision for all its equity teams and how this was not shared by the team led by Lachlan Davis.
The statement reads: “Central to AMP Capital’s 2020 strategy, now and going forward, is the investment teams’ shared view of vision and culture. A number of individuals from the Multi-Strategy Equities team have decided to take a different path and have resigned.”
The new AMP Capital team will be run from London by David Allen who will join in March from Sarasin & Partners where he was co-head of asset management. This team is also being joined by Richard Colquhoun from Antares Capital. Colquhoun will work in the Australian fundamental equities team.