AUI enters fifth joint venture
Australian Unity Investments (AUI) has announced its fifth joint venture, this time with new Asian equities boutique fund manager Seres Asset Management.
Seres, based in Hong Kong, will adopt an active, benchmark-unaware approach to Asian equities.
AUI will distribute Seres’ products in Australia to both the institutional and retail markets, with the first Seres Asian equities fund to be launched in Australia at the beginning of 2010.
It will initially only be available to Australian investors, according to an AUI statement.
Seres will have an initial focus on Greater China, Korea and Singapore, but will later expand to include areas such as India.
AUI head David Bryant said AUI had been considering adding Asian equities opportunities for some time.
“We have seen Asian equities do very well recently and we believe this is a long-term trend, which Australian investors should be building into their portfolios.
“We believe that there are outstanding opportunities in this region for investors”, Bryant said.
Seres’ new chief financial officer will be Evan Erlanson, who most recently worked with Bear Stearns Asia in Hong Kong and earlier with Goldman Sachs in Singapore, while the company’s senior portfolio manager, Dr Ken Lu, has Asian equities research experience, working with JP Morgan and Credit Suisse.
Recommended for you
Digital advice tools are on the rise, but licensees will need to ensure they still meet adviser obligations or potentially risk a class action if clients lose money from a rogue algorithm.
Shaw and Partners has merged with Sydney wealth manager Kennedy Partners Wealth, while Ord Minnett has hired a private wealth adviser from Morgan Stanley.
Australian investors are more confident than their APAC peers in reaching their financial goals and are targeting annual gains of more than 10 per cent, according to Fidelity International.
Zenith Investment Partners has lost its head of portfolio solutions Steven Tang after 17 years with the firm, the latest in a series of senior exits from the research house.
