A profitable alliance for Advance and Mellon
The two-year-old strategic alliance between Advance Asset Management and Mellon Global Investments has now passed the $1 billion mark in funds under management (FUM).
According to Advance managing director Kate Mulligan: “Australian investors are getting an appetite for asset classes other than Australian equities and Australian property. This desire to diversify will increase.”
As such, Mulligan anticipates that the alliance should attract another $1 billion in FUM over the same time period.
Of the total FUM, Australian retail investors have allocated over $350 million to international shares, and a similar amount to Mellon index funds. Fixed interest investments attracted $165 million, while Mellon’s global tactical asset allocation has FUM of $133 million.
Co-chair of Mellon International and Mellon Global Investments chief executive officer John Little said reaching the $1 billion milestone was “everything we had hoped for”.
He added: “People like our boutique approach, but also the fact that it is supported by an institution with a depth of resources. It’s a boutique style with large company backing.”
Currently, Advance offers retail investors five Mellon products, and is currently examining the possibility of making more funds available. Mellon has over 200 investment strategies available in total, from 11 subsidiary organisations, including Newton Investment Management and the Boston Company Asset Management.
Little said: “We are always looking to add to the product mix, but we don’t want to have a group of managers all doing the same thing.”
Mellon products are only available through Advance Asset Management in Australia.
Mulligan said: “There is a greater desire to go offshore. We are now in the 16th quarter of the Australian bull run, and the ASX has passed the 5,000 mark. So we are now hearing from advisers that they want to take more of their clients’ portfolios overseas.”
Recommended for you
In this episode of Relative Return, host Maja Garaca Djurdjevic is joined by shadow treasurer Angus Taylor to discuss the current state of the financial advice sector, the economy, the housing affordability crisis and more.
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew speaks with Andrew Mitchell, director and senior portfolio manager at Ophir Asset Management, about why he loves working in fund management and the lessons he’s learnt in a decade of running a firm.
In this episode of Relative Return, host Laura Dew speaks with Blackwattle Investment Partners managing director and chief investment officer, Michael Skinner, about setting up an asset manager and what he looks for in an investment team.
In this special episode of Relative Return, Momentum Media’s Phil Tarrant and Jordan Coleman discuss the publishing house’s expansion into greater coverage of the wealth management space.