UBS small caps seeks replacements
Standard & Poor's Fund Services (S&P) has maintained its ‘on hold’ ratings of the UBS Australian Small Companies Fund while the manager seeks replacements for departing team members, S&P stated.
Two of the three-member Australian-equities small-cap team, Jeremy Bendeich and John Campbell, have confirmed they are leaving the firm, and co-portfolio manager Stephen Wood has assumed full responsibility for the fund in the short term, S&P stated.
Wood being is assisted by other members of the manager’s broader Australian equity team, and UBS has advised that the recruitment process for additional staff is well under way, according to S&P.
“While these two departures are a setback for UBS’s small-cap credentials, we are comfortable that the appropriate interim measures are in place. However, we will be seeking to resolve the fund’s ‘on hold’ status once an additional senior hire has been made and we have completed a full review of the fund,” S&P stated.
Recommended for you
A Gold Coast-based financial adviser has been banned for four years by the corporate regulator after he provided inappropriate advice for Next Generation Advice regarding speculative and illiquid investments.
With $34.9 million in cash on its balance sheet, Fiducian executive chairman Indy Singh has said the licensee won’t be rushed into making large advice acquisitions or paying out special dividends.
ETF provider VanEck is set to launch its latest smart beta ETF – the MSCI International Growth ETF– ushering in a new growth international equities strategy.
Advancing research on the use of artificial intelligence in financial services, AMP has announced a strategic partnership with UNSW Sydney.
