With over 20 years experience in financial services and investment management, Ms Feros will be responsible for the Australian equities component of Advance’s multi-manager business. In previous roles, Ms Feros has overseen multi-billion dollar portfolios that have delivered strong relative performance in a variety of market environments. 

“We are delighted to have someone of Mary’s calibre join our specialist investment team. Mary brings with her an impressive track record in the asset management industry and, more specifically, a deep level of research knowledge within Australian equities,” said Patrick Farrell, head of Advance Asset Management. 

Ms Feros said she was delighted to be joining the team at Advance and that she was attracted to the team environment, the focus on top-down market dynamics and the dedication to the responsibilities it carries for clients. 

Ms Dimitra Voutas, who has been managing the Australian equities portfolio during the interim period, has done an outstanding job and will continue to work closely with Mary but will shift focus back to her  primary portfolio – property. 

Ms Feros was most recently joint investment director at 452 Capital Pty Ltd and joins the Advance team on Monday 19 November taking up the position previously held by Dustin Adams who resigned in September 2012.

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This mandate involves managing assets in the Advance Property Securities Multi-Blend Fund, which comprises a wide range of global property securities which are listed, or expected to be listed, on major world stock exchanges. That includes the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Asia and Australia. A diversified international asset manager, Principal Global Investors has extensive expertise in equities, fixed income and real estate.

Advance cited Principal’s significant experience in the management of both property securities portfolios and physical property markets, along with its tactical aptitude in emerging markets as key to the win. It was also impressed by Principal’s rigorous investment process which combines in-depth research with disciplined portfolio construction and risk controls.

“We are delighted to have Advance join us as a client. The mandate decision shows welcome recognition of our breadth of expertise across a range of asset classes, across a range of markets,” said Grant Forster, CEO of Principal Global Investors Australia.

“The Advance Property Securities Multi-Blend Fund is directed at investors seeking more diversity than is available through investing solely in Australian listed property securities and this kind of diversification capability falls squarely within our skill set,” he said.

Adrian Trollor, Portfolio Manager- Property Securities, Advance, said:

“The strength of Principal’s integrated global team and the flexibility of its regional portfolio managers were key factors in our decision to award this mandate. Principal has access to deep global research and the ability to incorporate quality data into the analysis of real estate securities and broader portfolio construction. We feel very satisfied that the decision is the right one in terms of the fit, the investment direction and the outcomes we are seeking for our investors.”

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Advance has also been named Best Balanced Fund and Best Growth Fund for its Moderate Multi-Blend Wholesale Fund and Balanced Multi-Blend Wholesale Fund respectively. 

It is the second major accolade for Advance in 2011. In August Advance was named Fund Manager of the Year in the Financial Review Smart Investor Blue Ribbon Awards. 

Head of Advance, Patrick Farrell, said he was delighted that Advance has been named Best Fund Manager and named as having the Best Balanced Fund and Best Growth Fund in the Money magazine 2012 Best of the Best Awards. 

Mr Farrell said that in a volatile market environment investors were seeking greater insight and expertise in dealing with these global issues. 

“Our investment team, combined with some of the best underlying fund managers globally, provides unparalleled expertise and the best thinking. We have an investment process that we believe is unmatched.” 

Advance is a specialist asset management business within BT Financial Group. Its focus is on asset allocation and risk management, implemented through a multi-manager process, providing investment opportunities across a range of asset classes, including shares, property, fixed interest and cash.

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The changes to the property securities fund represent significant, multiple changes to the underlying manager line-up, following Advance’s full review of the capability.   

For the property securities fund, Advance has added two global property-securities managers AMP Capital Investors Ltd. and Principal Global Investors Ltd. and has removed Perennial Investment Partners Ltd. and CBRE Clarion Securities LLC as investment managers. Advance has also added an Australian property securities fund manager, Phoenix Portfolios Pty Ltd. Each of the three new managers will hold a target allocation of 25%, with the remaining 25% continuing to be managed by existing manager, European Investors Inc. 

Coinciding with the appointment of Phoenix, Advance has adopted the S&P/ASX 300 A-REIT Accumulation Index as the benchmark for the A-REIT allocation. 

Advance has also made changes to its Australian Shares Multiblend Fund manager composition, replacing Ausbil Dexia with newly appointed Bennelong Australian Equity Partners. Advance has also changed BT Investment Management’s mandate from its core strategy to a higher-conviction strategy.

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Advance also won the multi-sector conservative category for the Advance Defensive Multi-Blend Fund and the multi-sector growth category for the Advance Balanced Multi-Blend Fund.

Head of Advance Investment Solutions Patrick Farrell said the win reflected the hard work of a committed team with decades of investment expertise.

“We have access to the latest expertise locally and globally and as a result our multi-manager funds benefit from the best possible thinking and expertise. We believe we have a unique investment process and we’re delighted that we’ve been recognised for this.”

According to research house Morningstar, which judged the award, Advance was a worthy winner whose people, processes and risk-adjusted performance, particularly in the last year, represent an exemplary manager relative to its competitors. 

Two of Advance’s funds were also named as finalists in the multi-sector balanced and large cap world shares categories.

Advance is a specialist asset management business within BT Financial Group. Its focus is on asset allocation and risk management, implemented through a multi-manager process, providing investment opportunities across a range of asset classes, including shares, property, fixed interest and cash.

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