FMOTY 2023: Spotlight on Emerging Managers

Ahead of the 2023 Fund Manager of the Year Awards on 22 June, Money Management spoke to finalists of the Emerging Manager of the Year.
The finalists in the category are: 

• Aikya Investment Management
• Fortlake Asset Management
• Pzena Investment Management
• Ruffer LLP
• Skerryvore Asset Management

Click here to view the full list of finalists.

This year’s finalists are a mix of new boutiques and those firms that have long track records overseas but only recently launched into the Australian market.

Ruffer had been managing money for superannuation funds for over 10 years but only launched its first unit trust for advisers and middle-market clients in Australia in December 2020.

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The firm noted its long track record since the firm’s inception in the UK in 1994 as well as its prioritisation of steady return generation over benchmarking. 

“Ruffer’s approach to investment management remains unique within the Australian market, prioritising the generation of steady positive returns over index benchmarking,” it said. 

“Another unique quality is the time period that the strategy has been run and tested. The firm’s inception in 1994 has weathered several market cycles, retaining investor confidence in its approach. These returns have been generated with a low correlation to equity markets and other alternative asset classes. 

“We have also demonstrated our commitment to the Australian market, we were on the first plane over after the borders reopened in 2021!”

Skerryvore is an independent, employee-controlled investment partnership established in 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland with Bennelong Funds Management’s international arm BennBridge.

“The partnership was set up to create a business with the independence to pursue its own investment philosophy. Our strategies aim to generate absolute long-term returns by investing responsibly in emerging markets,” it said. 

“What sets us apart is our unwillingness to compromise on an investment philosophy and approach that champions aligning the interests of business owners and managers and the underlying investors of the fund.”

Australian fixed income manager Fortlake Asset Management was approaching its three-year track record that would be a milestone in its recognition with research consultants and investors. 

“This means our next 12 months is likely to be a very busy period and we are focussed on not only investment markets and positioning our allocation strategy but also ensuring our client service capability grows ahead of our investor base,” it said. 

“Our process of making allocation decisions in real time across the broad market is a key skill set. Our focus on protecting the real purchasing power of income portfolios against inflation is our other defining feature.”

Finally, US firm Pzena was founded in 1996 but only recently started to promote its strategies to the Australian wholesale market. The decision to target Australian investors was based on a feeling there was now an opportunity for the firm to bring a differentiated product via focusing on undervalued stocks in its Global Equity and Emerging Market Equity funds.

“What has helped Pzena in the last 12 months in Australia has been the willingness of advisers and consultants to search for investment strategies that offer true diversification for their clients’ global equity portfolios. One of the key pieces of feedback we have had from new clients and prospects, who have allocated to us in their portfolios, is the fact we are one of the few true-to-label classic value managers,” it said.

Winners of the 2023 Fund Manager of the Year Awards will be announced on Thursday, 22 June 2023 at a black-tie gala awards ceremony at The Star in Sydney.

Click here to buy tickets to the awards ceremony.