Kit Toh

Global alternative asset manager MA Financial Group (ASX: MAF) with A$10.3bn ^[1] assets under management, has appointed Kit Toh as Head of Asian Distribution.

Kit will focus on providing Asian investors with access to high quality alternative investment opportunities. Ms. Toh will help to continue to drive growth with institutional and wealth clients across the region alongside Aidan McCluskey and Kelly Low in Singapore and Jimmy Fong in Hong Kong.

Ms. Toh’s appointment follows several recent significant milestones for MA Financial, including the launch of its inaugural private credit listed investment trust the MA Credit Income Trust (ASX:MA1), and its recent partnership with Warburg Pincus to launch a A$1 billion+ Real Estate Credit Vehicle.

While the firm has been actively offering investment opportunities for Asian investors for more than 10 years, MA Financial sees the expansion of their Singapore office as a critical step for their Asia business.

Andrew Martin, MA Financial’s Head of Asset Management, said: “Kit Toh’s appointment to Head of Asian Distribution, where she will progress our capital strategy in the region, signifies the growing demand for Australian private credit and alternative real estate investments in Asia. This has been highlighted through our recent billion-dollar deal with Warburg Pincus.”

“We have been successfully operating in Asia for over a decade managing funds for local investors, with offices and executives spanning all the major financial cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai.”

“The appointment of Ms. Toh is a critical step towards building out our investment and distribution capabilities and highlights our continued commitment to the region and our ambition to expand our offerings within Asia.”

Ms. Toh, said: “Asia is one of the fastest growing global wealth regions, with unprecedented investor demand in the alternative assets sector.”

“I am excited to leverage MA Financial’s long-standing presence in the Asian market and standout capability in the alternative asset space, helping to drive the conversation surrounding private credit and alternative real estate in Singapore and beyond.”

With more than 20 years of experience in asset management, Ms. Toh has worked with institutional investors and intermediary clients in Asia and North America, covering asset classes across public and private markets.

Prior to joining MA Financial, Ms. Toh served as Head of Asia Pacific at private equity investing platform, Moonfare. She has also held several leadership positions at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, JPMorgan Asset Management, and Capital Group.

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Anthony Habis

MA Financial Group, an ASX-listed manager of alternative assets with over $8.4 billion AUM, has announced the appointment of Anthony Habis as Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Partnerships in its Asset Management division.

Mr Habis is a global asset management veteran and joins MA Financial from Bank of New York Mellon, where he was Managing Director and Global Head of Client Coverage Asset Servicing, based in New York, with oversight of the firm’s client franchise across all investor segments. Prior to that, Anthony was BNY Mellon’s Head of Middle East & Africa, based in Dubai, where he led the firm’s growth agenda across several markets and businesses.

Before BNY Mellon, Mr Habis was a Managing Director at Citi’s Institutional Client Group and held several senior roles in the Middle East and Africa including Head of Global Family Office MENA, and Head of Private Bank, Saudi Arabia & UAE.

At MA Financial Mr Habis’ remit will be to further build on the firm’s global institutional investor relationships in the real estate sector, focusing particularly on the Middle East region.

He will commence at MA in mid-June.

Commenting on the appointment the Head of MA Asset Management, Andrew Martin said: “We’re delighted to welcome Anthony to MA Financial. Anthony is a proven leader and brings 26 years of experience in global capital origination and coverage, serving the investment needs of leading global investors. Anthony’s combined experience across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America will strengthen our capability and help accelerate our growth plans and ambitions for these important regions.”

“Anthony will work alongside MA’s Head of Institutional Capital, Mike Pyke, and the firm’s investment teams to implement an institutional client strategy and bring the firm’s full suite of alternative asset capabilities to global investors,” said Mr Martin.

“We are particularly excited about Anthony’s deep insights and senior relationships in the Middle East where there is growing appetite to invest in alternative assets and private market investments in Australia and globally, added Mr Martin.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Habis said, “I am delighted to be joining MA Financial, a firm with a demonstrable track record in partnering with specialist operators to invest in globally aligned growth trends and sectors. There is significant interest in MA’s capabilities in real estate and other alternative asset classes in the region.”

MA Financial Group is a diversified financial services firm specialising in managing alternative assets, lending, corporate advisory and equities, with a strong focus on growth and innovation.

The firm has $8.4 billion in assets under management, as of May 2023. It was established as a joint venture with NYSE-listed Moelis & Company and listed on the Australia Stock Exchange in 2017.  MA Financial employs over 600 people in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US.

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Andrew Martin

All three of Alphinity Investment Management’s Australian share funds have been rated ‘Highly Recommended’ by Lonsec.

The leading Australian and global equities boutique fund manager has had its Alphinity Australian Share Fund and its Alphinity Concentrated Australian Share Fund upgraded to the highest available Lonsec rating, while the Alphinity Sustainable Share Fund has retained its ‘Highly Recommended’ rating.

These upgrades come as a result of Lonsec’s increasing belief in the ability of Alphinity’s Australian equity portfolio managers to deliver on the firm’s investment objectives and consistently generate alpha.  In its rating reports, Lonsec noted the experience of Alphinity’s Australian equity investment team, and that Alphinity applied “a well formulated combination of quantitative and fundamental analysis, driven by a repeatable process which focuses on incremental earnings upgrades and balance sheet strength”.

Lonsec also noted the strength in Alphinity’s boutique ownership structure which promotes staff retention and helps to align the interests of the investment team with end investors. Alphinity Principal and Portfolio Manager Andrew Martin said it was pleasing that the work of the investment team and its disciplined approach continued to receive strong independent validation.

“At Alphinity we look for quality, undervalued companies in or about to enter an earnings upgrade cycle,” Mr Martin said. “We’re delighted that our disciplined, consistent investment approach – which has helped us deliver alpha for our clients since 2010 – has been recognised by Lonsec.”

Since inception in September 2010, each of the three funds have outperformed their respective benchmarks (net of fees), with the Alphinity Australian Share Fund delivering 9.9% p.a. and the Alphinity Sustainable Share Fund delivering 10.5% p.a. (vs 9.2% p.a. for the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index) and the Alphinity Concentrated Australian Share Fund delivering 11.1% p.a. (vs 9.4% for the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index).*

Alphinity Investment Management is majority owned by the investment team, and partly owned by Fidante Partners, the boutique funds management business of Challenger Limited.

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Andrew Martin

Two of Alphinity Investment Management’s Australian share funds have been rated ‘Highly Recommended’ by Zenith Investment Partners.

The leading Australian and global equities boutique fund manager has had its Alphinity Concentrated Australian Share Fund upgraded to the highest available rating, while the Alphinity Australian Share Fund has retained its ‘Highly Recommended’ rating for the fifth-consecutive year.

The Alphinity Concentrated Australian Share Fund provides investors with a concentrated exposure (20-35 securities) to ‘high conviction’ investment ideas in companies whose earnings growth potential has been underestimated by the market, as assessed by Alphinity’s extensive fundamental bottom-up research and targeted quantitative analysis.

The Alphinity Australian Share Fund provides investors with a similar but broader exposure to between 35 and 55 Australian stocks whose earnings growth potential has been under estimated by the market.

Since its launch in July 2010 the Alphinity Concentrated Australian Share Fund has delivered an outstanding 11.7% per annum net of fees, including 17.7% in the year to 30 June 2018, 4.7% above the S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation benchmark.

Over the same almost eight year period the Alphinity Australian Share Fund has delivered 10.3% per annum net of fees, including 16.7% in the year to 30 June 2018, 3.4% above the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation benchmark.

In the rating report, Zenith noted its ‘high regard’ for Alphinity’s investment team members, citing their experience, familiarity of working together and consistent historical outperformance of the benchmark.

“Zenith believes Alphinity’s formalised assessment of both a longer-term fundamental valuation and short term market indicators, is relatively unique within the Australian market and has the fund well positioned to capitalise on mispricing opportunities across the full market cycle,” the managed fund research firm said about both funds.

Alphinity Principal and Portfolio Manager Andrew Martin said it was pleasing that the work of the investment team and its disciplined approach continued to receive strong independent validation.

”Being recognised as a fund that not only produces strong results for investors over a long period of time, but one that does it in a particularly disciplined and consistent manner is a really encouraging result for the team. This strong endorsement caps off another positive year for investors in our funds. We have added a number of really experienced new members to the investment team in the last year who are very focused on adding to that record.”

Alphinity Investment Management is majority owned by the investment team, and partly owned by Fidante Partners, the boutique funds management business of Challenger Limited.

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