Ipac to revamp Citigroup investments

By George Liondis

Concern that in-house products were too heavily represented on CitigroupAsset Management’s corporate super master trust has prompted the fund manager to appoint the specialist investment consulting division of Ipac to overhaul its menu.

Ipac Investment Services has already initiated a revamp of the master trust’s multimanager portfolios, including changes to the underlying managers, asset allocation and a move from pooled funds to individual mandates.

At Ipac’s recommendation, the fund has also introduced a new series of single manager products to sit alongside its 10 multimanager portfolios.

As well as Citigroup Asset Management, the fund’s new Australian equities manager line up includes Barclays GlobalInvestors, Schroders, Wallara, Maple-Brown Abbott and MIR.

In international equities, portfolios will be managed by Barclays, Capital International, Alliance Capital, GMO, Bernstein and LSV.

Citigroup will continue to manage funds in emerging markets and property single-handedly.

The group’s business development manager, Paul Taylor, said the changes were necessary to make the master trust more competitive in the impending choice of superannuation fund environment.

“In reviewing our offering over the past few months, there was a feeling that there was too much of a slant towards Citigroup,” Taylor said.

He said Citigroup would target corporate super funds worth over $10 million which were looking to outsource to coincide with the introduction of choice, as well as funds which had already moved to a master trust arrangement, but were unhappy with their current provider.

“There are clients who are already with master trusts who are looking to renew their arrangements,” he said.