Russell Investments today announced a series of structural changes in the Asia Pacific region as it prepares for strong growth in 2013 via a focus on delivering outcome oriented multi-asset solutions for investors large and small.
Speaking with staff and clients in Sydney today, Russell’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Len Brennan, said the changes are designed to reinforce Russell’s goal to be the recognised industry leader in outcome-oriented multi-asset solutions worldwide.
Under the new structure, Russell’s long time CEO Asia Pacific, Alan Schoenheimer, will be charged with spearheading the continued growth and direction of the Australian and New Zealand businesses, as part of the broader regional growth strategy for the firm.
Mr Brennan said that as one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated investor markets, Australia continued to be one of the biggest opportunities for Russell’s global asset management business.
“We believe the next wave of assets in this region will be channeled into outcomes-based multi-asset solutions – with a strong market opportunity specifically in retirement incomes. Our challenge is to capture this growth while controlling costs in this competitive environment,” Mr Brennan said.
The position of Australasia CEO will be removed as part of the restructure and, as a consequence, Chris Corneil will leave the organisation after fifteen years at the firm and four years as CEO for the Australasia region.
Mr Brennan today joined with staff from the Australian and New Zealand businesses to sincerely thank Mr Corneil for the contribution he has made to Russell over the past fifteen years, and for the dedication he has brought to his work.
“We want to thank Chris for his substantial contribution in building a vibrant business across Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Brennan said.
The duties and responsibilities of the Australasia CEO will be absorbed by the CEO Asia Pacific role and the leadership team in the Australasian region will now report directly to Mr Schoenheimer.
“We’ve recognised a strong global move towards active, multi-asset solutions – an approach that requires a specialist toolkit of investment capabilities including customised asset exposures, adaptive asset allocation, holistic portfolio construction and tax-aware portfolio management,” Mr Brennan said.
“With our long history in building multi-asset solutions for some of the world’s largest investors, Russell is one of the few firms with the unique breadth of capabilities necessary to meet client expectations in this area.”
Examples of how these work together to help clients achieve their specific outcomes include the Russell Australia Value Premium Strategy and After-tax Australian Shares Fund.
Mr Schoenheimer is based in Sydney and brings 22 years experience working in the Australasian region, as well as across a range of global markets. He said that Australia, like many other developed countries, faced a retirement incomes dilemma as people live longer and want to maintain their standard of living.
“Ultimately our focus will be to ensure baby boomers convert their savings into a reliable stream of income and protect their income against the uncertainties of retirement”.
“There is a clear need for innovative market offerings in the retirement incomes space. My role is to ensure Russell realises the full potential of this market opportunity,” he said.
