The annual awards recognise excellence in funds management across major asset classes and disciplines and aim to raise the standard of funds management in the industry for the ultimate benefit of investors. Twenty-three winners were announced in a range of categories including Rising Star, two Sustainable and Responsible Investments categories and the new Index Fund of the Year category, culminating in the award for the Fund Manager of the Year.

The 2022 Fund Manager of the Year went to Perpetual Asset Management Australia for the second year running. With a presence in the finalist line-up in five award categories, Perpetual also won the Multi Asset Real Return category.

The Rising Star category went to Melior Investment Management for its differentiated investment approach, impressive excess performance since inception and market-leading responsible investment strategy within the Australian equities asset class.

The Distributor of the Year was awarded to Fidante Partners for the third consecutive year – a stellar achievement in a highly competitive category. The quality of Zenith’s ratings across Fidante’s product suite, expanding use of their products in models, easy access to their boutiques’ investment professionals, and the quality of their adviser support and sales team were again highlighted as the key drivers for this important award.

The 2022 Industry Contribution Award went to industry veteran and Portfolio Construction Forum founder and Managing Partner, Graham Rich.

The newest category, Index Fund Manager of the Year, went to iShares by BlackRock. The category was introduced this year to reflect the continued growth in the sector, which also saw Zenith introduce a new ratings process last year tailored specifically for index funds. BlackRock was singled out in this category for its strong, long-term track record in managing index funds that have produced outcomes (after fees) that are highly consistent with their underlying indices.

David Wright, Zenith CEO, congratulated all finalists and winners for their commitment to quality management and delivering for their clients during what’s proven to be a challenging and continually changing economic environment.

“We’re so pleased to be able to finally hold our awards in-person this year. Fund managers have worked hard to navigate uncertain times for their investors and it’s important that we take the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate their achievements over the last year. The fact that they’ve been able to deliver competitive returns for their clients is a real testament to their teams and investment processes.

“Each finalist in the Zenith Fund Awards is a leader in their field and has displayed investment excellence across both qualitative and quantitative criteria over the past 12 months and beyond. The awards are informed by the group’s leading internal research team, which has been delivering quality research and insights to the industry for two decades,” said Wright.

Commenting on Graham Rich’s win, Bronwen Moncrieff, Zenith GM and head of research, said, “Graham’s contribution to the financial services industry over multiple decades has been exceptional. His commitment to the continuing education of the participants in this rich and varied sector and his efforts to grow and develop the research industry in Australia make him a fitting winner of this award.”

The full list of winners:

AREIT: Cromwell Funds Management/Phoenix Portfolios
Global REIT: Resolution Capital Limited
Real Assets: Charter Hall Group
Infrastructure: Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure
Global & Diversified Fixed Interest: Macquarie Asset Management
Australian Fixed Interest: Metrics Credit Partners
Alternative Strategies: PIMCO
Multi Asset – Diversified: BlackRock
Multi Asset – Real Return: Perpetual Asset Management Australia
International Equities – Emerging Markets & Regional: Fidelity International
International Equities – Alternative Strategies: Talaria Asset Management
International Equities – Global: GQG Partners
International Equities – Global Small Cap: Bell Asset Management Ltd
Australian Equities – Alternative Strategies: L1 Capital
Australian Equities – Small Cap: Prime Value Asset Management
Australian Equities – Large Cap: Alphinity Investment Management
Sustainable and Responsible Investments – Income: Pendal
Sustainable and Responsible Investments – Growth: Perennial Partners
Index Fund Manager of the Year: iShares by BlackRock
Rising Star: Melior Investment Management
Industry Contribution Award: Graham Rich
Distributor of the Year: Fidante Partners
Fund Manager of the Year: Perpetual Asset Management Australia

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This prestigious award was launched in 2019 to recognise outstanding industry leaders in Funds Management and was presented to Mr Elmslie on 15 October at the Annual Zenith Fund Awards.

Mr Elmslie is a pioneer of global listed infrastructure investing, co-founding RARE Infrastructure, with Nick Langley, which launched the first global infrastructure strategy for Australian investors in 2006.

Presenting the award, Bronwen Moncrieff , General Manager and Head of Research, Zenith Investment Partners added: “Richard’s vision to provide a portfolio of listed infrastructure assets to investors and his contribution to the infrastructure sector has paved the way for the growth in the industry we know today.”

Mr Elmslie has 40 years of investment industry experience, of which, for 31 years, he dedicated to the infrastructure industry.

He has played a pivotal role in leading the privatisation of the asset class worldwide, including the privatisation of Australia’s major airports, most notably Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the Victorian electric and gas sector, and the UK water and Scottish electric industry.

His passion and expertise was influential in establishing listed infrastructure as an attractive asset class for investors.

After successfully integrating with New York-based global equities manager ClearBridge Investments, Mr Elmslie expressed how delighted he was that the team at ClearBridge Investments is now managing a range of specialist listed infrastructure strategies for investors worldwide.

ClearBridge Investments also won the Infrastructure category at this event for the second year.

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[1] “ClearBridge Investments” refers to ClearBridge Investments Limited (AFSL 307727) (formerly known as RARE Infrastructure Limited) and ClearBridge Investments, LLC

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Dugald Higgins

Zenith Investment Partners has appointed Dugald Higgins to the expanded role of head of responsible investment & real assets, to lead the growth of the business’s responsible investment offering and meet increased demand for ESG insights from financial advisers.

Mr Higgins was previously Zenith’s head of real assets and listed strategies, having worked for Zenith since 2009. He will continue to report to general manager and head of research, Bronwen Moncrieff.

Ms Moncrieff said having a dedicated resource to give ESG the focus it needs will result in the broader Zenith Group, which includes Chant West, having a stronger capability and consistent group approach to responsible investing.

“Zenith believes responsible investment issues should be fully incorporated into the broader fund analysis process and Dugald’s strong research background will bring a unique perspective on how this needs to work in order to optimise outcomes for investors.

“Investor interest, client feedback, manager activity and general market momentum is growing significantly in the area of responsible investing, and we are committed to it as both a service provider in our industry and as a business in our community.

“Dugald has been instrumental in driving Zenith’s work in this area via his responsibilities as chair of Zenith’s Responsible Investment Committee. His involvement in sustainability issues in investment research date back to 2002 and going forward he will be tasked with continuing to drive our RI capabilities across the Group.

“We believe responsible investment and incorporation of ESG is crucial in promoting a stable economy, and investors should be provided with investment choices that have measurable impacts as well as financial returns,” Ms Moncrieff said.

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The new ratings will be applied as Zenith moves through its annual review cycle, commencing with the June 2021 release of its Australian fixed interest, Australian equities and property sector reviews. In line with Zenith’s existing ratings tiers, the new index ratings will include investment grade ratings of Index Highly Recommended, Index Recommended and Index Approved.

According to Zenith’s general manager and head of research, Bronwen Moncrieff, while the business has been rating index funds for many years, the launch of a dedicated index rating scale will meet increased demand for a high conviction rating solution specific to this sector of the investment universe.

“As the number of traditional index products offered to the Australian retail investor expands, we’re seeing offerings from the largest fund managers complemented by a growing band of smaller players.

“Responding quickly and effectively to this evolving market need is important in being able to offer advisers access to all the information required to make the right investment recommendations for their clients.

“We’re confident the dedicated index rating methodology will be viewed favourably by the market, and afford greater choice and information for advisers. Its rollout over the coming months forms an important part of our research strategy and service offering,” said Moncrieff.

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Bronwen Moncrieff has been promoted to the role of General Manager of the Zenith business and will take on broader general management responsibility across the different divisions of the Zenith business including data support, sales and marketing, IT and other shared office business functions. In her new role Bronwen will retain the Head of Research role, a position she has held for the past 6 years but delegate some of her existing research responsibilities to the Heads of the different asset classes, including: Andrew Yap (Head of Multi Asset & Australian Fixed Income), Quan Nguyen (Head of Equities), Dugald Higgins (Head of Property & Listed Assets) and Rodney Sebire (Head of Alternatives & Global Fixed Interest).

Bronwen joined Zenith in June 2011 as a Senior Investment Analyst, before being promoted to Head of Research in November 2012.

Bronwen has over 23 years’ experience in the global investment industry, and has held senior analyst roles with several firms including the Future Fund, Lonsec and Russell Investments.

Matthew Cho has been promoted to Investment Consultant and will be joining the five-member consulting team in July 2018. Matt joined Zenith in 2015 as an Associate Investment Analyst, before being promoted to Investment Analyst in May 2016. Prior to joining Zenith, Matt held research and client-facing roles with a private wealth advisory firm. Matt moves across to the consulting division from July 1 with a full understanding of Zenith’s research process and will retain close links to the research team in servicing managed account and consulting clients.

Promotions reflect Zenith’s growing footprint

Both appointments are a direct result of the continued growth in the take up of Zenith’s managed account and investment consulting services. The increasing interest in managed account portfolio services by advisers is providing an exciting growth avenue for Zenith. Zenith believes its success in this area is as a direct result of the strength of its underlying research, which remains core to its portfolio management services and is a key competitive advantage compared to a number of other investment consultants that have emerged in the market.

Zenith Managing Partner David Wright said “we believe Zenith’s competitive advantage in managed accounts is underpinned by the ability to generate unique insights from our own research team. This provides the infrastructure to build high-performing lower-risk portfolios, as well as exceptional reporting that’s enjoyed by our adviser clients.”

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International share returns solid for 2013.

While 2013 isn’t quite over yet, global and emerging markets have returned far greater results than one would have expected at the start of the year.  One year returns (as at 30 September 2013) for the MSCI World ex Australia and MSCI Emerging Markets indices (in $A) were 34.0% and 12.3% respectively.

Bronwen Moncrieff, Head of Research at Zenith Investment Partners (Zenith) said “I would hazard a guess that if you went back 12 months, not many people would have predicted results like this.”

International Shares is the largest sector review that Zenith undertakes.  Zenith’s 2013 International Shares review includes Global (unhedged and hedged), Global Emerging Markets, Global Small Cap, Country and Regional funds (Asia ex Japan), Global Listed Commodities, Global Private Equity.  The sector review also considers the key issues likely to face the asset class in the coming years.

“The impact of globalisation continues to influence the way companies structure their businesses and the way investment managers research and assess the likely success of those structures.  Increasingly, companies have sought to expand or develop their operations by targeting exposure to the thematic of changing global demographics – specifically, changing consumer preferences and rising wealth of the urban middle class within emerging market economies”.

“We think this is only going to become more pronounced.  Going back five or ten years, the level of company reporting on where revenues were sourced from was limited.  Now, it has almost become standard.  It goes without saying, where a company is listed is becoming less and less relevant.  It is all about where revenue and revenue growth is sourced from.”

“Overall, managers have generally fared well.   Within emerging markets, while an annual index return of just over 10% is nothing to be sneezed at, the difference in returns versus the global index certainly begs the question why?”  Managers covered in the review consistently pointed to the managed slowdown of economic growth in China, high wage growth in a number of emerging market economies and high inflation all being contributors to the relative underperformance”.

“On the positive side of things, managers also noted that the sector maintains a number of attractive characteristics.  For example, growth rates generally in excess of those for developed markets, ample room to implement fiscal and monetary stimulus if required, significantly lower levels of debt than many developed markets, and attractive valuations.”

“Currency has also been a big contributor to a client’s overall return.  The difference in the one year return (ending 30 September 2013) between hedged and unhedged versions of the MSCI World ex Australia index was 8.7% – to the benefit of the unhedged investor.  While the $A has certainly declined over the last 12 months, if you consider the level of the $A in terms of long run purchasing power parity, valuation continues to remains on the high side.  While we certainly don’t advocate investors making active currency decisions based on near-term currency predictions,  clearly there are risks over the short-term given the volatility of the $A.”

Zenith’s International Shares Sector Review represents the largest sector review undertaken by Zenith.  Of the 101 global, regional and specialist funds that took part in Zenith’s International Shares Sector Review, 16 funds achieved Zenith’s top rating.

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