Ausbil moves into global infrastructure



Ausbil Investment Management has announced plans to move into global infrastructure after it hired a team of four investment professionals to manage its new global listed infrastructure strategy.
The team included Tim Humphreys as portfolio manager, Jon Reyes as co-portfolio manager and head of transportation, and Paul Johnston as head of utilities, with the final member of the team to be announced shortly, the firm said in a press release.
Humphreys, who has over 20 years of experience in financial markets in Europe and Sydney, and previously worked for AMP Capital RARE and Rothschild Asset Management, would be responsible for the overall construction of the portfolio.
Reyes and Johnston would also be in charge of the portfolio construction, on top of conducting analysis of their respective sectors.
At the same time, Ausbil’s executive chairman and head of equities, Paul Xiradis, would continue to oversee the business’ domestic equity strategies.
Ausbil’s chief executive, Ross Youngman, said the team was expected to start in early July.
“We’re a decade into the global economic recovery with positive implications for global infrastructure. Our clients want exposure to the theme so we’re delighted to secure individuals of this calibre to implement our investment strategy,” he said.
Recommended for you
Domestic equity managers are lagging the ASX 200 in the first half of the year, according to S&P, with almost three-quarters of Australian equity funds underperforming over the six-month period.
ETFs saw almost $5 billion of inflows during August, with international equities gaining double those of fixed income funds, as total assets close in on $300 billion.
GSFM has formed a distribution partnership with Auscap Asset Management to distribute its equities funds in Australia and New Zealand, its 10th distribution partner.
For overseas fund managers coming to Australia, a focus on platforms is critical for achieving growth, according to IMAP chair Toby Potter, flagging iCapital’s partnership with Netwealth as a firm which is succeeding in this goal.