ABN AMRO by any other name

ABN AMRO Asset Management Australia has changed its name to Fortis Investment Management Australia Limited (FIMAL) following its merger earlier this year with global fund manager Fortis Investments.

While the entity with which clients are contracted remains unchanged, ABN AMRO will replace its name and branding with FIMAL’s from today.

FIMAL has funds under management of $6.9 billion, including $4.9 billion of Australian equity funds managed by Fortis Investment Partners (FIP), a new ‘boutique’ in which FIMAL retains a 40 per cent shareholding.

Although some ABN AMRO funds will remain unchanged by the merger, including the Australian Equity, Concentrated Australian Equity and High Income Global Property Securities funds, others will have new investment teams. These include the Global Equity, Emerging Markets Equity and Europe Equity funds, which Fortis contends will benefit from the company’s global expertise.

The group’s restructuring means FIMAL will be responsible for sales and client services as well as operations, administration, compliance and risk management services. FIP will provide Australian equity portfolio management services for FIMAL clients.

Both FIMAL and FIP will move to new premises at the Royal Exchange Building in Sydney’s Pitt Street. FIMAL’s Melbourne office has moved to 2 Queen Street, Melbourne CBD.