Felicity Walsh

Franklin Templeton specialist investment manager Martin Currie has been selected to manage an Equity Income mandate available on the Colonial First State FirstChoice platform.

“We are pleased to be awarded this mandate and recognised for our expertise in managing income-generating funds,” Franklin Templeton Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Felicity Walsh, said.

The appointment follows the announcement in April that the incumbent manager – First Sentier Investors (FSI) – would close all its Australian-based global credit, Australian fixed income, equity income and emerging companies’ teams.

“This appointment is a testament to the Martin Currie team’s unique investment approach that aligns stock selection and portfolio construction with the income needs of Australian clients, ” Walsh said.

The Martin Currie Equity Income Fund has a Recommended rating from Lonsec and a Highly Recommended rating from Zenith. It seeks to provide an after-tax income yield above the S&P/ASX 200 Index yield and grow that income above the rate of inflation.

“The Martin Currie Equity Income Fund aims to identify the most attractive income opportunities by combining extensive bottom-up fundamental and quantitative research with disciplined portfolio construction,” Reece Birtles, Chief Investment Officer at Martin Currie Australia, said.

“We also manage it in a tax-aware manner to maximise the benefit from franking credits for investors with a low or zero marginal tax rate,” he added.

Martin Currie embeds an “active ownership” approach into the investment process. In its engagement with companies the fund manager focusses on both materiality and ESG outcomes at the companies it invests in.

“We believe ESG analysis, engagement and voting should be done by those making investment decisions rather than being outsourced. Our research analysts and portfolio managers are best equipped to understand the ESG risks, opportunities, and impacts facing the companies they invest in, ” Birtles said.

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