Magellan has appointed a deputy portfolio manager to work on its Airlie Australian Share Fund.
Magellan Asset Management said it has appointed Joe Wright to work on the $705 million fund, effective from 3 October.
He will work alongside existing portfolio managers Emma Fisher and Matt Williams who have managed the fund since its inception in June 2018.
The fund seeks to invest in 15–35 “best ideas” Australian listed companies and provide long-term capital growth and regular income through investing in Australian equities.
Wright joined the investment team of Airlie as an equity analyst in June 2021. Previously he worked as an equity analyst in the Australian equity team at Schroders.
The Airlie Australian Share Fund has returned 12.3 per cent over one year to 31 August versus returns of 14.9 per cent by the ASX 200 benchmark.
Magellan acquired Airlie Funds Management, which was founded by John Sevior, in February 2018. At the time, it said the acquisition would allow Magellan to offer Australian equities to its investors without diluting its focus on global equities.
As of 31 August, its Australian equities division had $7.1 billion in funds under management out of a total $37.8 billion at Magellan. The firm previously noted that it had seen particular gains during FY24. This was an improvement after the division suffered outflows following the exit of Sevior in March 2023 after more than a decade at Airlie.
The appointment of Wright is the second manager appointment in many weeks as the firm previously appointed Alan Pullen as the third co-manager on the $8.3 billion Magellan Global Fund and on the $106 million Magellan Global Equities (Currency Hedged) Fund.
He will work on the funds alongside existing portfolio managers Arvid Streimann and Nikki Thomas.
Pullen is the manager of the Global Opportunities strategy since its inception in December 2021, and is also the portfolio manager for the Global Sustainable strategies.
Prior to joining Magellan, he worked as an analyst and portfolio manager at Maple-Brown Abbott covering financials in Asia ex-Japan. He also spent six years as an economist at the Reserve Bank of Australia.
