Russell Investments today unveiled a new ‘alliance’ approach to investing that will drive the continued growth and direction of the business in the region.
In development for the past two years, the approach is part of a major shift towards ‘outcome-oriented’, multi-asset investing that is sweeping investor markets worldwide.
Under the new alliance approach, Russell will partner with large investors and selected financial advice groups to develop highly customised portfolios designed to meet specific outcomes for individual investors.
A key focus for the local alliance program is expected to be the development of innovative retirement income solutions – to help older Australians convert their savings into a reliable stream of income and protect their income against the uncertainties of retirement.
All Russell’s global investor intelligence will be incorporated into the portfolios which will offer investors true diversification, be highly adaptive to changes in markets, and offer a ‘best of breed’ approach.
Demand for the new approach has come from both retail and institutional investment players with Russell formalising a series of new alliances across the region.
Specialist toolkit of investment capabilities required
Russell’s heritage in crafting multi-asset solutions over the last 30 years, and its unique breadth of capabilities spanning the five critical areas of capital markets insights, manager research, portfolio construction, indexes and portfolio implementation has given the firm the edge in the global multi-asset surge.
Russell Global Chief Investment Officer Peter Gunning said he was excited to be back in Australia talking to clients and prospects about the alliance approach.
“There is a paradigm shift underway in the way global and Australian investors are thinking,” Mr Gunning said.
He said the losses experienced through the global financial crisis, as well as ongoing market volatility, had fundamentally changed the way the industry thought about investing. Evidence of this was the industry’s movement away from assessing funds based on whether they beat a peer group of managers, or market indices, towards developing outcome oriented portfolios that use an individual’s personal financial situation and income needs as a starting point.
“Today large investors want a series of intelligently constructed, efficiently managed portfolios that will deliver the right outcomes for their members or investors, whatever the performance of markets, and whatever the person’s particular set of needs are,” he said.
“The sheer complexity and sophistication of today’s adaptive, outcome-oriented portfolios offers a new challenge for investors of all sizes. The approach requires a specialist toolkit of investment capabilities including customised asset exposures, adaptive asset allocation, holistic portfolio construction and tax-aware portfolio management. Russell is one of the few firms with the unique breadth of capabilities necessary to meet client expectations in this area,” Mr Gunning said.
Together, Russell and Matrix Planning Solutions, develop PartnerShip Funds
Russell today announced an alliance with Australian retail financial planning group Matrix Planning Solutions. Together the firms have developed and launched the PartnerShip Funds – five actively managed portfolios designed to deliver different outcomes depending on the investor’s life stage and income needs:
- The PartnerShip Conservative Fund, Balanced Fund & Growth Fund: for investors saving for their future needs and looking for actively managed solutions within a risk managed framework
- The PartnerShip Debt Management Fund: for people needing income to help pay down their mortgage
- The PartnerShip Income Seeker Fund: for people nearing or in retirement who need income but can’t risk their savings.
Matrix Managing Director Rick Di Cristoforo said the firm’s decision to partner with Russell was driven by a desire to focus on investors’ individual needs and Matrix’s continued push for improvement in offerings for their advisers and clients.
“We felt there was a better way to deliver real solutions to our clients. The global move towards outcome-oriented investing makes sense to our business and we have worked with Russell to build from the ground up a unique suite of solutions that we are confident will deliver for our clients, whatever the market environment. The arrangement with Russell also puts Matrix advisers in a unique position to have clarity into the workings and decision making of the funds within a formal joint investment committee structure.”
“Russell’s global presence, their leadership and diligence around investment research, and their track record on implementation were key factors behind our decision to move forward with the alliance.”