From the Source

You are in News + Outlook ⁄ From the Source ⁄ RQI Investors launches new client-backed emerging markets strategy and expands team with four key hires

RQI Investors launches new client-backed emerging markets strategy and expands team with four key hires

08 Oct 2026

From RQI Investors

RQI Investors, an active quantitative equities manager within the First Sentier Group, has launched a new emerging markets strategy following seed investment from a major Australian super fund, while further strengthening capabilities with four strategic appointments.

Major super fund seeds emerging markets strategy

RQI Investors has launched the RQI Emerging Markets Diversified Alpha Fund (the Fund) backed by seed investment from a major Australian super fund, reflecting increasing demand for the firm’s quantitative investment capabilities.

Leveraging the team’s 15-year track record in emerging markets equities, the strategy draws on a wide range of data sources to identify alpha opportunities while maintaining a strong focus on risk management. It aims to deliver long-term capital growth and income whilst aiming to outperform the MSCI Emerging Markets Index by 2% p.a. with similar risk levels over the long term.

The strategy expands RQI Investors’ existing Diversified Alpha suite of funds, including the recently launched Global Diversified Alpha Fund which received a Lonsec ‘Highly Recommended’ rating, and are available to investors in Australia and globally.

The launch follows the award of several new mandates globally in 2026, further demonstrating confidence in RQI Investors’ systematic investment approach and creating further growth opportunities for the business.

Andrew Francis, Chief Executive of RQI Investors said: “The decision by a major client to seed our Emerging Markets Diversified Alpha strategy, together with the award of new mandates, are strong endorsements of our investment capabilities and reflect growing recognition of the value that quantitative investing can bring to client portfolios.

“We are seeing strong interest across client segments and markets off the back of our strong long-term track records across our strategies, creating opportunities for us to work with clients on capabilities that match their needs, expand our product offering, and position our business for long-term growth, whilst remaining laser focused on delivering our performance objectives.”

Strengthening capabilities with four key hires

RQI Investors has also appointed four investment and research professionals, bringing its team to 25 professionals, as it continues to invest in its capabilities to continue to deliver long-term outperformance for clients and support future growth. These include:

John Conomos joins as Investment Director, supporting client engagement, consultant relationships, product development and thought leadership. He previously served as Head of Global Quantitative Research at Macquarie Group.
Dr Chang Hwan Sung joins as Senior Quantitative Portfolio Manager with responsibilities across RQI Investors’ Global Value and Diversified Alpha strategies. He previously held several senior portfolio management and quantitative investment roles at Invesco, BlackRock and Samsung Asset Management.
Sam Machen joins as Quantitative Research Developer. Mr Machen previously held a number of quantitative modelling and software engineering roles at Jacobi.
James Sutherland joins as Quantitative Researcher. Previously, Mr Sutherland was a Quant Trader Developer at Tibra Capital specialising in global futures and equities.

Commenting on the appointments, Mr Francis said: “I’m pleased to welcome John, Chang Hwan, Sam and James to RQI Investors. These appointments deepen our investment and research capabilities, and reflect our continued commitment to innovation, strategy development and strong client outcomes. As we continue to grow, having exceptional talent across the business is critical to supporting our clients and focussing on delivering our performance objectives.”

Tags:Andrew Francis Chang Hwan James Sutherland John Conomos Sam Machen

Earn CPD Points

CPD: Intergenerational wealth – When the responsibility transfers before the money
Picture this: an Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) has sat in a filing cabinet for years. Then a sudden health event means an adult daughter is called on to act [...]
CPD: Why market structure rewards active management in local currency EMD
Key takeaways A large, diverse and fast-growing opportunity set: local currency EMD spans economies at very different points in the cycle, offering income, growth and genuine diversification. Structure, not just [...]
CPD: A practical system for building client confidence – Value of Advice (Part 1)
Introduction As the advice profession continues to evolve, so too do client expectations and perceptions of the value of advice. Perhaps nothing sums up this shift as perfectly as this [...]
CPD: When a little knowledge is dangerous – countering the financial ‘guidance’ your clients are getting from AI
Move over, Google The expression “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” seems particularly appropriate to financial decisions, where the amounts at stake and the inherent complexity make the risk [...]
CPD: A review of the Code of Ethics (part two)
This article, proudly sponsored by GSFM, examines standards seven to twelve of the Code of Ethics. Standards one to six were examined in a previous article you can read here. [...]