Paul Xiradis

Ausbil Investment Management (Ausbil) is honoured to announce that Paul Xiradis, co-founder of Ausbil and our Executive Chairman, Chief Investment Officer, Head of Equities and Portfolio Manager for the flagship Ausbil Australian Active Equity Fund has been inducted into the prestigious Australian Fund Manager Foundation Hall of Fame.

“After managing money for over 45 years and 27 years at Ausbil, I am truly grateful to accept this award,” said Xiradis. “I extend my thanks to the Australian Fund Manager Foundation and dedicate this recognition to our clients, many of whom have been with us since the beginning and for whom our work is truly intended.”

The Hall of Fame inductees list includes some of Australia’s most respected investors, including Olev Rahn, Kerr Neilson, Anton Tagliaferro, Peter Morgan, Chris Cuffe, Chris Kourtis, Geoff Wilson, Catherine Allfrey, John Sevior, Phil King and more. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is centred around the charitable philanthropy program of the Australian Fund Manager Foundation. Over the past 25 years, the awards night has raised millions for its charity partners, including Odyssey House NSW and the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, amongst other charities.

“We have certainly seen a lot on this investment journey, and it is one I enjoy taking every day I come to the office. I co-founded Ausbil with a relatively simple investment philosophy, that earnings and earnings revisions are the key drivers of share prices,” said Xiradis. “Investment management is truly a team effort. Over the years I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible talent who have helped shape Ausbil’s success and continue to apply our approach across Australian and global equities.”

Ausbil’s Australian Active Equity strategy is over 27-years old and has generated a gross long-term performance since inception of +11.3% per annum (before fees), outperforming the benchmark (S&P/ ASX 300 Accumulation Index) by +2.8% pa since inception on 1 August 1997 on a gross of fees basis (as at 30 September 2024). Ausbil’s investment approach has delivered one of the longest track records in the market, as is evidenced by the following chart of net returns.

The Ausbil Australian Active Equity Fund (ARSN 089 996 127) (Fund) return is from its inception on 1 August 1997 to 30 June 2024 and is net of fees and costs, before tax and assumes reinvestment of distributions. Returns are based at 100 on 31 July 1997. The strategy Benchmark is the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index. US Equities in AUD refers to the S&P 500 in AUD terms. Global Equities in AUD refers to the MSCI World Index (AUD). A-REITs refers to the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT index.

Australian Fixed Income refers to the Bloomberg AusBond Composite 0+ Yr Index. Cash refers to Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index. Gold in AUD refers to the Australian dollar equivalent gold price as quoted on Bloomberg. Australian Inflation refers to the headline quarterly CPI rate as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Investments in cash, gold and fixed income are generally considered to have lower risks when compared with investments in Australian and global equities.

“Paul is a real professional and has built a great business,” remarked Mark Knight, Ausbil’s Chief Executive Officer, who has worked with Xiradis for over two decades. “He eats, sleeps and drinks financial markets and he understands that he needs good people around him. This is a team sport.”

Since it began in August 1997, the Ausbil Australian Active Equity Fund has negotiated a ‘crazy’ set of tail events including the US Tech Bubble, the Global Financial Crisis, the European Debt Crisis, Brexit and its aftermath, the Fed Pivot, the once in a century COVID pandemic and recession, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the ensuing energy crisis, the rapid normalisation of interest rates across 2022 and 2023, and the high inflation crisis of 2023/2024.

“Paul tends to get the big shifts right. For example, staying out of the overvalued REIT sector leading into the GFC in 2008 or not becoming too defensive when the pandemic hit in 2020,” said Knight. “This has helped produce excellent long-term returns and has been terrific for our investors.”

“As a firm, we are proud of Paul’s success and wish to congratulate him on joining the elite ranks of the Australian Fund Manager Foundation Hall of Fame.”

Ausbil Investment Management was established in 1997 and manages over $20bn in funds under management as at 17 October 2024.

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The annual awards recognise the best in funds management across various major asset classes and disciplines, with the aim of raising the standard of funds management for the ultimate benefit of investors.

Winners were announced across 23 categories including Rising Star, Distributor of the Year, Index Fund Manager of the Year and the major award for the Fund Manager of the Year.

The 2023 Fund Manager of the Year went to Perpetual Asset Management Australia for the third year running. Perpetual was a finalist in five award categories, and also won in the categories of Multi Asset – Real Return, Australian Equities – Alternative Strategies and Sustainable and Responsible Investments – Income.

Macquarie Asset Management was the other firm to win multiple awards, winning in the Infrastructure and Global & Diversified Fixed Interest categories.

The Rising Star category went to Aikya Investment Management, while Distributor of the Year was awarded to Fidante Partners for the fourth consecutive year.

The 2023 Industry Contribution Award went to respected industry veteran and Investors Mutual founder, Anton Tagliaferro.

Index Fund Manager of the Year went to Vanguard Investments Australia. This category was introduced last year in response to continued growth in the sector and Zenith’s introduction of a ratings process tailored specifically for index funds.

Zenith chief executive officer David Wright said each finalist is a leader in their field and has displayed investment excellence across both qualitative and quantitative criteria over the last year and the longer term.

“As has been our focus in previous years, today’s awards recognise and honour excellence in funds management across all asset classes and disciplines. We believe that this is fundamental to continuing to raise the standards of funds management in our industry for the ultimate benefit of investors,” Mr Wright said.

“Since our first awards ceremony in 2012, when we had just 17 categories of awards, we’ve grown to deliver awards in 23 categories presented to a sold-out event with over 360 of the industry’s key people in attendance.

Commenting on Anton Tagliaferro’s win, Zenith general manager and head of research, Bronwen Moncrieff, said:

“Anton has made a huge contribution to the financial services industry over four decades as one of the country’s most highly respected value-style fund managers, including over 25 years heading up the firm he founded, Investors Mutual. It was a very easy decision to bestow him with the Industry Contribution Award, and his legacy will be felt across the Australian financial services industry for years to come.”

The full list of winners:

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Anton Tagliaferro

Anton Tagliaferro, one of Australia’s most highly respected value-style fund managers, today announced that he will retire from Investors Mutual Limited (IML) in 2023.

Anton’s retirement in March 2023 will coincide with the 25th anniversary of IML which he founded with the purpose of creating a research-driven value fund manager focused on building portfolios of Australian companies that represent both ‘quality and value’.

Originally from Malta, Anton arrived in Australia as a Chartered Accountant in the 1980’s and was soon drawn to the sharemarket joining Prudential in 1986 before moving to Perpetual in 1988. At Perpetual, Anton was responsible for managing the long-standing Industrial Share Fund and launching it to the public in October 1989.

Commenting briefly on his decision, Anton said “I believe that now is the right time to hand over to the next generation at IML.  I know I leave our clients in safe hands with every confidence in the team’s ability to generate healthy returns moving forward.”

The announcement follows a well-planned and executed succession plan by IML, one that positions it for the future while ensuring continuity of the firm’s approach to investing. In 2017, Natixis Investment Managers (Natixis IM), a top 20 global investment manager acquired a majority stake in IML. In 2021, Damon Hambly was appointed IML’s Chief Executive Officer having previously held the position of Natixis IM CEO of Australia. Hambly has served as an IML director since 2017 and as an executive director working alongside Anton since 2020.

Commenting on the announcement, Hambly said, “I would like to thank Anton for his significant contribution to IML. Under Anton’s leadership, IML investors have benefited from the consistent and true-to-label ‘quality and value’ investment style that Anton has embedded into the business. While in some ways it is the end of an era, we are pleased that Anton is handing over to an experienced team of investors who have all been working with him at IML for well over a decade.”

“I would like to thank all of our clients who have supported IML over the past 25 years. Without you I would not have had the opportunity to do what I was passionate about every day.” said Anton.

IML’s flagship fund, the Investors Mutual Australian Share Fund, has delivered above-benchmark returns with less volatility than the Australian sharemarket since its inception^[1].

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[1] As at 30 July 2022. Fund returns are calculated net of management fees, and assuming all distributions are re-invested. Investors should be aware that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. The benchmark for the Investors Mutual Australian Share Fund is the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index (ASX300). Inception date: 30 June 1998.

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Anton Tagliaferro

Anton Tagliaferro, Investment Director, and the investment team at IML reflect on 20 years of ‘quality and value’ investing and lessons learnt in Australian equities.

Investors Mutual Ltd (IML) is pleased to announce that 2018 marks 20 years since it started managing money for clients in Australian equities using its quality and value approach. From the tech boom to the tech wreck, through the credit crunch of the GFC to unprecedented quantitative easing and easy money, IML has endured and overcome countless changes, trends and fads.

Setting up as an ‘out of touch’ fund manager

IML founder, Investment Director and Aussie equities investor, Anton Tagliaferro, commented on the 20-year anniversary of the business he created in May 1998, just as the dot.com boom was taking hold of global share markets.

“It was something of a baptism of fire in the beginning. Markets were running hot on the back of a boom in technology stocks, many of which were purely speculative. At the time, our approach of only owning well-established, quality companies at a reasonable price looked very much out of style – in fact many labelled IML as old-fashioned or out of touch with where the economy was going. It was a challenging time for IML, but our investment approach was well vindicated when the technology sector collapsed and within six months the markets went from a ‘tech boom’ to what the media began referring to as the ‘tech wreck’.” said Mr Tagliaferro.

A first in Australia: 20 lessons from 20 years of investing

Mr Tagliaferro said that IML has always had a clear investment philosophy which it has adhered to through the many market cycles of the last 20 years.

“In the last 20 years, we have seen many cycles and gyrations in the share market – starting with the tech boom and bust in IML’s early years to the last decade where we saw share markets falling heavily through the GFC. We’ve seen the Euro crisis with subsequent recoveries in markets as Central Banks cut interest rates to record lows and engaged in quantitative easing.

“Standing consistently by our quality and value investment philosophy of only buying companies with competitive advantage, recurring earnings and capable management at a reasonable price has made IML the company it is today.

“To coincide with IML’s 20-year anniversary, the IML investment team has put together what we believe are the 20 most important lessons gleaned from our experiences of investing in the ever-changing markets of the last 20 years.

“These 20 lessons are being released progressively – we believe they are the first of their type that have been put together in Australia, and that they will be of great interest and use to the many investors who are trying to manage their money in what is an increasingly volatile environment.’ said Mr Tagliaferro.

“The current environment is a challenging one for investors – with lots of liquidity floating around and with the valuation of many stocks, until recently, pushed to very high levels. In addition, the increasing size and influence of quant funds is prompting many very large short-term share price movements often on the back news which is largely irrelevant to many companies long-term fundamentals.

“Despite the volatility and changing market dynamics, we continue to focus on value and quality stocks in a disciplined and systematic way and continue to identify companies with a strong competitive advantage, with recurring earnings, run by capable management that can grow, at a reasonable price – which is what we have focused on since our inception.’

“At this 20-year anniversary, we would like to thank our investors for their continued trust in us, and we look forward to delivering the same level of consistent returns to all our investors in the next 20 years.” Mr Tagliaferro said.

IML’s 20-year anniversary client functions and roadshows commence this week. Investors and advisers can subscribe to the 20 lessons from 20 years series of lessons at https://www.iml.com.au/20-lessons

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Anton Tagliaferro

Natixis has announced the signing of definitive agreements to acquire a majority ownership stake (51.9%) in Investors Mutual Limited (IML) in Australia, which becomes a new affiliate of Natixis Global Asset Management.

With IML, a well-established asset manager with AuM of AU$9.1bn (€6.1bn), Natixis Global Asset Management will achieve its first major acquisition in Australia and increase its exposure to the local retail market and the Australian superannuation industry. In addition, with IML, Natixis Global Asset Management is reinforcing its distribution platform in Australia, following the establishment of an office in Sydney in 2015. This marks an important step in Natixis Global Asset Management’s ambition to expand its presence in Australia and APAC as a whole.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Natixis Global Asset Management will acquire all the shares in IML held by Pacific Current Group Limited (ASX: PAC), along with a portion of the shares in IML held by IML founder Anton Tagliaferro, for up to AU$155m (€103m) in cash. This will give Natixis Global Asset Management an equity stake of 51.9% in IML. The transaction is expected to close in October 2017. The acquisition will be financed out of Natixis’ own funds. The estimated impact for Natixis CET1 ratio is around -15 bps (4Q17).

IML is a well-respected, successful Australian equities value manager created in 1998. It has a long-term, conservative, quality and value based investment style.

IML’s management team will remain shareholders in the business alongside Natixis Global Asset Management

IML Investment Director, Anton Tagliaferro, will continue to run the business, supported by Head of Research Hugh Giddy and other senior leaders. The management team continues to be committed to the business through its significant equity interest in IML.

Under Natixis Global Asset Management’s multi-affiliate strategy, IML will retain its autonomy, investment philosophy and culture, as well as benefit from the support and stability of a global group that specializes in asset management and which has a track record of successful ownership and development of investment management companies around the world. There will be no changes to the way in which IML is run day-to-day, nor to its management.

“We have previously stated that it is our intention to pursue new growth in the Asia Pacific market, and this marks the first acquisition as part of those plans. IML has a strong track record as one of Australia’s most consistently-performing fund managers, and its commitment to investors and reputation in the market will make a significant contribution to the Natixis Global Asset Management multi-affiliate model,” said Jean Raby, member of Natixis Senior Management Committee and CEO of Natixis Global Asset Management.

“The Australian wealth management industry in particular is highly sophisticated, and IML’s views on portfolio construction and risk management align with Natixis Global Asset Management’s Durable Portfolio Construction approach. Moreover, IML shares our core values of consistency, transparency and always putting clients first,” said Fabrice Chemouny, Head of APAC at Natixis Global Asset Management.

“We welcome Natixis Global Asset Management, one of the world’s leading asset managers, as a supportive, long-term shareholder and business partner, and we look forward to providing Natixis Global Asset Management with expertise in Australian equities,” said Anton Tagliaferro, Investment Director at IML.

Natixis Global Asset Management currently has over 20 affiliates, each of which concentrates on the investment styles and disciplines in which they have proven expertise. The multi-affiliate structure is built on a belief in the power of independent thinking, and purposefully maintains the autonomy, investment philosophy and culture of the firms it acquires.

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Anton Tagliaferro

Australian equities specialist, Investors Mutual Limited (IML), has been awarded a Small Caps allocation / model portfolio inclusion by multi-manager, Alpha Fund Managers.

The IML Small Cap Fund aims to deliver investors with consistent and long term returns by investing in quality small cap companies aligned to their investment philosophy, that is; companies pertaining a competitive advantage, with recurring earnings, run by capable management, that can grow, whilst trading at a reasonable price.

In awarding the allocation, Julien Brodie, Portfolio Manager at Alpha, said, “We selected the IML Small Cap Fund because of the quality and insight of the investment team, defensive characteristics and importantly its ability to navigate market rotations (such as during 2016) and deliver consistent outperformance across time.”

Simon Conn, IML’s Small & Mid Cap Senior Portfolio Manager said, “We are delighted that Alpha has chosen to add our Small Cap Fund to their clients’ portfolios. IML will aim to deliver their clients with consistent capital growth over the long term with lower volatility, as has been the hallmark of all IML funds since our inception in 1998.”

Anton Tagliaferro Investment Director of IML added: “We thank Alpha for their support and faith in IML’s process following their comprehensive due diligence process and we are pleased they have chosen IML as they understand and are aligned to our investment philosophy and process”.

The allocation follows IML recently being awarded Morningstar’s Small Cap Manager of the Year, along with their strong research house ratings across all strategies.

At the end of June 2017, the Fund delivered investors 14.8% p.a., 17.2% p.a. and 18.1% p.a. over one, three and five years’ net of fees, respectively.

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Prior to joining IML, Marc was employed as a Portfolio Manager at Milford Asset Management for 6 years with responsibility for their Australian equity portfolios. Before working at Milford, Mark worked for 7 years at Lazard Asset Management as a Senior Industrials Analyst.

Anton Tagliaferro said; “We are very pleased to have appointed someone of Marc’s calibre and experience to IML. This senior appointment is another important step in broadening and deepening the strength and experience of IML’s investment team, particularly in the small cap sector where we are experiencing good growth thanks to continued retail inflows and an increasing institutional following.

“Marc comes to IML with a strong numerate background and excellent portfolio management and research skills from his many years experience working at other respected value managers. This makes Marc well suited to a career at IML and Simon is delighted to have Marc assisting him in the small cap sector.”

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Anton Tagliaferro

With just over a week remaining before offer close, Investors Mutual’s recently launched LIC, QV Equities Limited (ASX:QVE), has attracted firm commitments and cash of over $100 million, thanks to strong interest from advisers and investors since opening on July 14.

Investors Mutual’s Investment Director and QVE Investment Manager, Anton Tagliaferro, said, “We are delighted by the positive response we’ve received from the market so far. QVE’s success lies in its ability to compliment the increased move to direct equities, particularly in the SMSF space providing investors with a ready-made portfolio of ex-20 stocks. QVE thus offers a unique diversification solution for clients, giving QVE shareholders exposure to many quality companies outside of the ASX top 20, as selected by IML.”

Wayne McGauley, IML Head of Retail said, “We are pleased with the overwhelmingly positive feedback received from research houses, advisers, accountants and individual investors on the approach and strategy behind QVE.”

“Investors have responded well to the number of channels available to access QVE, with the LIC being available on some of Australia’s leading platforms, as well as more traditional broker and general application channels. The platform access, along with its inclusion on leading dealer group’s approved product lists is quite unique for a LIC. This improved access enables SMSFs, HNW individuals and their advisers to easily incorporate QVE within their portfolios,” added Mr McGauley.

QVE recently achieved a ‘Highly Recommended’ rating from Lonsec and ‘Recommended’ by Zenith with both research houses commending Investors Mutual’s investment approach and experienced team.

The offer will remain open until the 8th of August, with subscriptions accepted until this date.

The issue has been arranged through CBA Equities who are also one of the Joint Lead Managers to the issue along with BBY, Patterson and Taylor Collison and Co-Lead Manager Lonsec Securities.

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Anton Tagliaferro

Investors Mutual’s listed investment company QV Equities (ASX: QVE) has gained strong interest from advisers and investors since its offer period opened on Monday 14 July. Some of Australia’s leading platforms including BT, Colonial First State, MLC and Macquarie have all announced QVE’s inclusion in their platform offerings.

The platform inclusions in many leading dealer groups’ approved product lists is quite unique for a listed investment company. It will improve access and allow SMSFs, HNW individuals and their advisers to incorporate QVE into their portfolios. Investors Mutual’s founder and Investment Director Anton Tagliaferro said QVE had been designed to help investors achieve a diversified portfolio outside of top 20.

“QVE provides investors with a prudent vehicle to diversify their portfolios, and there has been strong uptake since the offer period opened. It is a well known fact investors are over concentrated in top 20 blue chip stocks. They are now realising the breadth of opportunities and diverse entities the ex20 segment offers in terms of industry sectors,” Mr Tagliaferro said.

Research ratings reflect investor appeal – QVE ‘Highly Recommended’ by Lonsec, and ‘Recommended’ by Zenith

QVE has also been awarded a ‘Highly Recommended’ rating by Lonsec and ‘Recommended’ by Zenith, with both research houses commending Investors Mutual’s investment approach and experienced team.

Lonsec’s ‘Highly Recommended’ research report stated “QVE offers investors access to a high quality Board of Directors and investment team with a ‘true to label’ value style and strong track record of performance across market cycles.”

Lonsec also noted its high conviction “in the calibre of Anton Tagliaferro and Simon Conn as value investors across the market capitalisation spectrum” with the “highly accountable performance driven investment culture and boutique structure” also being of note.

Zenith echoed the sentiments that “IML’s philosophy is ideally suited to a LIC, given the sector is strongly supported by the SMSF market, which seeks preservation of capital and income.

“Zenith sees QVE as a LIC with solid potential as part of a diversified equities portfolio, believing an ex20 exposure should complement an investors direct stock holdings or an exposure to the traditional LICs which focus on the top 20 stocks which are predominately financials and resource companies.”

QVE’s offer period is open from now to 8 August, 2014 with a raising target of between $100 to $200 million. The issue has been arranged through CBA Equities who are also one of the joint lead managers to the issue along with BBY, Patterson and Taylor Collison and co manager Lonsec Securities.

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Anton Tagliaferro

Investors Mutual have announced the launch of its first listed investment company (LIC) – QV Equities Limited (ASX: QVE). QVE is aimed at providing SMSFs, HNW investors and their advisers with a diversified portfolio of quality companies outside the top 20 stocks in the ASX 300.

Managed by Investors Mutual, one of Australia’s leading value managers with $4.9 billion FUM and a 16 year track record of consistent performance and distribution payments, QVE will focus on investing in Australian companies outside the ASX top 20.

With many portfolios overly concentrated within the top 20 blue chip stocks, Investors Mutual founder and Investment Director, Anton Tagliaferro said QVE offers investors a prudent vehicle to diversify their portfolio.

“The ex 20 offers more diverse entities in terms of industry sectors, providing a far greater breadth of opportunity,” Mr Tagliaferro said.

“QVE will aim to provide investors with a ready made portfolio of high quality stocks with established businesses and with solid growth and dividend prospects. Remaining true to IML’s tried and tested investment philosophy QVE will identify and invest in stocks which IML assesses are good value and have the quality attributes of strong competitive advantage, recurring earnings, capable management and can grow their earnings and dividends over time,” he said.

QVE offers advisers and investors diversity

QVE also aims to solve the difficulties advisers and investors often face when assessing which stocks to invest in the ex 20 segment. QVE will leverage Investors Mutual’s extensive experience and expertise in selecting companies using its in-depth stock selection research.

“We have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from research houses, advisers, accountants and individual investors on the approach and strategy behind QVE,” Mr Tagliaferro said.

“The offer complements the increased move we’re seeing in the market to direct equities. It also provides a unique solution for advisers and investors as QVE will give diversity to portfolios with a high exposure to the top 20 stocks in Australia. In addition, QVE will be a useful vehicle for many investors and advisers currently using ETFs and index tracking funds.

“QVE has put together a very strong Board who are committed to ensuring QVE delivers on its expectations. Together with Investors Mutual’s robust research capabilities and stock selection expertise, we strongly believe that QVE represents a very attractive solution for many investors.

“Importantly, QVE’s fee structure is also aligned to shareholders whereby the fee scales downwards as QVE grows and unlike most other recent LIC offerings, QVE will not charge any performance fees to its investors,” Mr Tagliaferro concluded.

QVE’s offer period will be open from 14 July to 8 August, 2014 with a raising target of between $100 to $200 million. The issue has been arranged through CBA Equities who are also one of the joint lead managers to the issue along with BBY, Patterson and Taylor Collison and co manager Lonsec Securities.

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