Zurich announces partnership with Celeste FM
Zurich Investments and Celeste Funds Management have announced a partnership to distribute Celeste’s Australian Small Companies Fund to the Australian market.
Celeste was selected following a search by Zurich for a smaller companies manager and said it liked the firm’s strong track record and dedicated investment team as well as its strong retail footprint.
Zurich also appointed the firm to take over the management of the existing Zurich Investments Small Companies Fund.
Matthew Drennan, head of savings and investment at Zurich, said: “Celeste Funds Management is a proven manager of Australian smaller companies and an excellent addition to the suite of Zurich Investments strategic partnerships.
“We are excited to welcome the Celeste team as our newest strategic partner managed by Frank Villante and Paul Biddle.”
Villante, chief investment officer at Celeste, said “The Celeste team looks forward to developing a mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Zurich Investments. We believe we can deliver above benchmark returns, from the application of our investment process for the benefit of the client base.”
The Celeste Australian Small Companies Fund returned 6.2 per cent over one year to 31 July, 2019, according to FE Analytics, versus returns of 5.8 per cent by the ACS Equity- Australian Small and Mid Cap sector.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Recommended for you
In the latest Meet the Manager profile, Money Management speaks with Michael Skinner, founder and managing director at Blackwattle Investment Partners.
Perpetual has seen AUM rise 6 per cent in the last quarter but the departure of a longstanding JOHCM fund manager led to outflows of $2.2 billion from his strategy.
Global fixed income fund Bentham Global Opportunities has been added to several major platforms, enabling it to be accessed more easily by financial advisers.
Following yesterday’s news about First Sentier Investors closing four investment teams, a second global asset manager has announced it is closing its only dedicated Australian fund.
