BT bring property back into the fold

BT Financial Grouphas replaced Principal Global Investors (PGI) as investment manager for its more than $500 million of listed property trust assets by bringing the management of the assets in-house.

BT had been considering its options since the Principal property team of Stuart Stuckey, Mark Thorpe-Apps and Ern Koh announced their resignation in April to set up boutique property group Pengana Capital.

The portfolio will be managed by BT’s head of listed property Antoinette Plater, who will employ the same active investment objectives and active investment style the fund offered previously.

Despite PGI recently appointing a new listed property securities team, BT’s view was that it was in its unit holders’ interests to bring the portfolio back into the BT fold.

Plater has 21 years experience in investment analysis and portfolio management, including six years in the Sagitta Rothschild Listed Property Securities team as an analyst and portfolio manager.

Plater is supported by two property analysts, Antony Knep and Julia Forrest, who have an additional combined 20 years Australian property securities experience.

The operations of PGI covering direct and listed property were the only parts of the BT Funds Management (BTFM) group not to merge with Westpac when Principal in the US sold BT in August 2001.