Hunter Hall buys stake in start-up boutique
InvestmentmanagerHunter Hall Internationalhas acquired a 30 per cent interest in AM Constable Limited (AMCL), a start-up boutique fund manager.
The stake, worth $300,000, was purchased in December 2002 after Hunter Hall decided that the management and performance to date of AMCL warranted the investment.
The principal and controlling shareholder of AMCL is Peter Constable, who was a non-executive director of Hunter Hall until his recent resignation.
Hunter Hall partner Fred Wollard says the investment manager developed a respect for Constable’s abilities while he filled the role on the board.
“When Peter decided to set up his own venture we thought he had a chance of achieving considerable success,” Wollard says.
AMCL, operating since October 2001, is a retail managed investment trust focusing on small cap Australian equities with a penchant for value.
Since then its performance record has been noteworthy, returning 13.7 per cent for the six months to December 2002 and 38.9 per cent per annum since inception.
Constable says the returns are a result of close and careful management of a concentrated portfolio.
He says he is pleased to have Hunter Hall as a stakeholder in AMCL as the now well-respected investment manager was only years ago in a similar position as a start-up.
However, Wollard says Hunter Hall will be a passive investor and not play a role in influencing decisions of the boutique manager.
AMCL, which began with $2.25 million funds under management, has grown to $3.6 million over the past year.
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