Perpetual reforms US funds on back of slide

PERPETUAL Investmentshas responded to a prolonged slide in the performance of its flagship International Fund with sweeping changes to the management of its US equities capabilities.

The changes will see Perpetual switch the portfolio management responsibilities of its US holding from a team of analysts set up by its American partner, Fidelity, to an individual portfolio manager at Fidelity, Bruce Herring.

Herring will continue to manage Perpetual’s US funds in line with Fidelity’s growth style bias, but will diversify the portfolio across a wider range of industries.

The move comes after a forgettable 2002 for Perpetual’s offshore equities products, with the $1 billion International Fund returning negative 31.9 per cent over the calendar year.

Perpetual chief investment officer Emilio Gonzales says the group’s US exposure, which makes up 50 per cent of the International Fund’s total assets, was the main cause of the performance downturn.

He says the change will also bring the management of the International Fund’s US exposure into line with its European and Japanese exposures, which are both managed by individual portfolio managers at Fidelity.

Analysts have welcomed the move by Perpetual, with the Lonsec research group saying there was a lack of clarity in the recent management of the International Fund.

“While the European, Japanese and Asian portfolios run by Fidelity have been achieving strong relative results, Fidelity’s existing management of US equites for Perpetual lacked clarity and there was little sign of a performance turnaround,” Lonsec says.

Gonzales says the move does not indicate a wider change to Perpetual’s broader relationship with Fidelity, which has managed international equities on behalf of Perpetual since 2000.