Sunsuper to terminate investment mandate with Everest

Sunsuper will pull out of its $200 million investment mandate with Everest Financial Group following a reduction in Everest’s assets under management and staff numbers.

Everest Financial Group recently advised that it would wind down around 50 per cent of its funds, which would see the group redeem assets from underlying investment managers, pay down internal fund leverage and, where applicable, return funds to investors.

The group is also continuing with the wind down of its existing direct investment portfolios, Everest Financial Group chief executive Jeremy Reid said.

Everest Financial Group has cut the number of its ‘full-time equivalent’ employees from 41 at December 2007 to 16 in March this year. Over that time the group’s assets under management have fallen from $3 billion to $1.1 billion as a result of investor redemptions, fund performance and the restructure away from Babcock and Brown, when the latter retreated purely to the infrastructure space.

Despite Sunsuper’s intent to terminate, Reid said Everest remained confident in the long-term industry fundamentals.

“We remain focused on and committed to our core business of absolute return funds management,” he said.

The group had also made some key new hirings, Reid said.