NAM picks six managers for Aust equities

National Asset Management(NAM) has made a further step towards the restructuring of its investment process taking on six external managers for the Australian equities sector.

NAM has chosen Concord Capital, Contango Asset Management, Credit Suisse Asset Management, Lazard Asset Mangement,Maple-Brown AbbottandPerpetual Investmentsto manage its $2 billion worth of funds in Australian equities.

The change in management style for NAM from the previous single specialist manager style to the manager-of-managers approach follows a business review held earlier this year and subsequent appointment ofMLC Investment Management(MLCIM) as the group’s principal investment adviser.

“As our investment adviser MLC will do the manager monitoring, manager selection and the implementation, but NAM does its own due diligence,” NAM general manager John Gee says.

While the long-term strategic asset allocation approach followed by NAM is similar to MLC, Gee says NAM’s style focus will not change with the appointment of its Australian equities managers.

“NAM has a value active style, and it is important we retain these characteristics,” he says.

The move to multi managing for Australian equities, and the diversification now available is expected to yield a better return consistency, according to NAM chief executive Bruce Coleman.

The strategic business review process is now largely completed, Gee says, with only the international and domestic debt managers to appoint.