Magellan Financial Group has appointed a new co-manager on two of its global equity funds.
Alan Pullen, who has worked at the firm since 2012, will be 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.
Currently, 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.
Over one year to 31 August, the Magellan Global Fund, which is the firm’s flagship fund offering, has returned 19.6 per cent versus returns of 18.7 per cent by the MSCI World Net Total Return Index.
Recently, Magellan converted the closed class units of its Magellan Global Fund into open ones which led to $0.4 billion in redemptions, primarily from retail investors.
In July, the firm received approval from the NSW Supreme Court to convert the Magellan Global Fund from a closed class unit to an open-ended active ETF. The responsible entity, Magellan Asset Management, subsequently amended the fund and it was delisted from the ASX.
At the time, Magellan said it hoped the conversion would permanently address the trading discount to net asset value per closed class unit and provide more flexibility in relation to how investors could enter or exit the fund.
Total funds under management at the firm sit at $37.8 billion as of 31 August.
In its FY24 results, the firm announced that it had acquired 29.5 per cent of the parent company of Vinva Investment Management, Vinva Holdings, for $138.5 million.
Vinva manages active systematic equity strategies across Australian and global equity markets and has $22 billion in funds under management, having been founded in 2010.
This will see it distribute Vinva’s products and investment strategies through its global distribution team as part of an exclusive distribution agreement, excluding Australian institutional clients. The two firms also intend to collaborate on new product initiatives in Australia and globally.
