UK fund manager Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) is to launch two funds in Australia by the end of November.
RLAM is part of the UK’s largest mutually owned pension and investment company and has $365 billion in assets under management (AUM) as of 30 June 2025.
The two unit trusts will be Australian versions of existing UK vehicles and will receive seeding from the UK business to allow them to get up and running straightaway and is expected to focus on the company’s ‘Core’ investment process.
While the firm is best known for its expertise in global equities, it is understood conversations with potential investors indicate this asset class is less attractive in this current period of geopolitical tension as well turbulence in RLAM’s investment team.
Last year, the firm hit an obstacle when it lost several members of its flagship global equities team as senior portfolio manager Peter Rutter set up his own firm called Life Cycle Investment Partners, backed by Australia’s Pinnacle Investment Management.
Speaking to Money Management, head of regional sales Kevin Haran, who was appointed in June from seven years at Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), said: “We are best known for global equities with a long-term focus but clients are concerned about it and it is a challenging place right now. But they are still interested in the core space which is less driven by stylistic themes and uses the life cycle philosophy, and we feel those products have a relevant role in portfolios.
“We also want to offer a competitive fee structure as we are a mutual.”
The RLAM global equities funds were previously distributed by Ironbark Asset Management in Australia but the exit of multiple managers prompted the cessation of this relationship when Ironbark withdrew a $3 billion investment mandate.
As a result, RLAM decided it was time for the firm to expand into Australia without the use of a third-party distributor.
Haran said: “RLAM is selectively looking at markets where there is close alignment, Australia is the first of these as they like the regulatory similarities between the two countries.
“We were already working with Ironbark as they were the distributor of our global equities funds in Australia so we already have existing clients here.
“We felt we were missing that direct connection with our clients. Our focus is on distribution right now, we want to get a sense of what products our clients want, where there is demand and then we can expand and build out the team.”
With the fund launches just weeks away, RLAM is currently in the process of obtaining research ratings for the funds and placing them on fund platforms.
Another area of interest could be in active ETFs as the firm’s UK HQ recently appointed Steve Palmer from HSBC Securities as its first head of ETF solutions. In the newly created role, Palmer will lead the design and development of active ETFs and build a specialist team for product development such as fixed income ETFs.
In Australia, Haran said RLAM’s ETFs are already available via platforms such as CommSec and this availability may include any new active ETFs in the future.
Active ETFs in Australia currently stand at 164 vehicles, totalling $64.1 billion in assets under management as of 30 September. This is a 28.7 per cent rise year-on-year, reflecting the demand for the products in recent months.
