Neil Rogan

Russell Investments has launched a Private Markets Managed Portfolio, bringing a portfolio of private equity, private credit and real assets onto AMP’s North platform with a minimum investment of $25,000 for advised clients.

The portfolio is designed to address longstanding barriers to private markets implementation, including high minimum investments, complex structures, and limited accessibility within advised client portfolios.

“Advisers have wanted to incorporate private markets into portfolios for some time, but implementation has been the challenge,” said Neil Rogan, Head of Distribution, Australia and New Zealand at Russell Investments. “Bringing this onto platform with a lower minimum investment makes it far more practical to use in everyday client portfolios.”

David Hutchison, General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments at AMP, said: “We’re seeing strong demand from advisers to incorporate private markets into diversified portfolios, but access and implementation have been key constraints. Expanding our investment menu with the addition of Russell Investments’ Private Markets Managed Portfolio on North helps address those barriers in a way that is practical for advisers and their clients, providing true diversification through a well-governed menu.”

A growing share of global companies are staying private for longer, meaning more value creation is occurring outside listed markets. At the same time, adviser demand for private markets exposure is increasing as portfolio construction evolves beyond traditional asset classes.

The portfolio provides diversified exposure across private equity, private credit and real assets, with underlying strategies selected through Russell Investments’ global research platform.

“Manager selection is critical in private markets, where outcomes can vary widely,” Rogan said.

“Our global scale and research capability allows us to identify high-quality opportunities from leading managers, making them accessible in a format that can be more easily implemented in client portfolios.”

The managed portfolio structure combines private market strategies with more liquid exposures, including ETFs, to help support portfolio management and access to capital over time. It also offers consolidated reporting through the platform.

The portfolio is designed to complement listed equity and fixed income exposures, giving advisers a practical way to introduce private markets as a diversifier within broader client portfolios.

The design reflects Russell Investments’ institutional approach to private markets. Insights from its Private Markets Playbook 2026 highlight the importance of selectivity and manager quality in the current environment, particularly as dispersion in manager outcomes increases.

The portfolio will be available on North from Monday 30 March 2026.

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David Hutchison

AMP’s bi-annual North Managed Portfolios Insights Report finds managed portfolios are becoming the advice vehicle of choice for more practices across Australia, cementing themselves as a mainstay in adviser portfolios.

Launched yesterday, the report looks at the outlook for managed portfolios in Australia and the structural trends and investment themes that underpin them today.

Index managed portfolios were the most popular among advisers on North over the last 12 months, along with partnered managed portfolios which saw over $2 billion in net inflows over the last 12 months.

That contributed to total partnered managed portfolio AUM growing from $12.7 billion to $16.6 billion over the course of 2025, an increase of $3.9 billion, with private markets seen as next ‘growth opportunity’ for sector innovation.

A total of 119 portfolios were added to the platform across 2025, with 25 new series launched, bringing the total to 597 portfolios on North.

Key findings:

• Record growth: North managed portfolios AUM grew for a fifth consecutive year, rising by 31.8% from $19.1 billion to $25.2 billion, as at 30 December 2025.
• Index managed portfolios ‘most popular’ among advisers on North with private markets seen as next ‘growth opportunity’ for sector innovation.
• North’s Buy menu grew by an additional $1 billion to $7 billion, up from $6 billion in 2024 thanks to strong positive flows.
• $25.2 billion in Total AUM: growing from $19 billion as total AUM for North managed portfolios jumped for another consecutive year.
• Over 4200 advisers now on North: With a total addressable market of 12,470, one in three advisers are using North with managed portfolios representing a significant growth opportunity.^[1]

David Hutchison, General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments, AMP said: “2025 was another exciting year for managed portfolios on North, with strong growth and excellent new product offerings alongside several new investment managers joining us.
“Over the last 12 months, almost 120 new portfolios were delivered, catering for a breadth of our client and adviser needs. That includes our private markets capability, set up last year, which is really exciting and we look forward to launching a number of PMO portfolios in the first half of 2026.

“We’re pleased to be working with some of the industry’s best investment managers to provide advisers and their clients with true diversification across multiple asset classes and investment options, ensuring their needs are met at every life stage.

“We saw a total of 10 new investment managers welcomed to the platform and 25 new series launched, giving advisers and their clients access to cutting-edge and world-class strategies on North that they can now add to their portfolio mix.”

Edwina Maloney, Group Executive, Platforms, AMP said: “We recognise the twin challenges facing many advice practice owners today: business growth through profitability and maintaining exceptional client outcomes. That’s why managed accounts are so compelling – they allow more advice practices to achieve both while scaling their business responsibly and meeting the changing needs of clients today.
“While the increasing sophistication in the construction and management of managed portfolios has lots of exciting potential, providing access to these innovative developments cannot happen at the expense of good governance.

“Every investment option on North earns its place – and maintains it – through a disciplined governance process. It’s how we protect investors and give advisers confidence. It’s also not a ‘set and forget’ progress – we have and we will continue to test and improve this process to ensure it remains industry best practice.”

Making private markets accessible to retail investors

North is also pleased to announce it has expanded its investment menu with the launch of the Cornerstone Private Markets Managed Portfolio in partnership with Invest Blue Group.

Available to advisers on North, the separately managed accounts suite sits alongside clients’ existing investments and operates as a ‘satellite’ allocation to reduce clients liquidity risk, bringing more choice and flexibility. It offers a simple, advised pathway into private equity, private credit and real assets, providing everyday advised clients exposure to assets traditionally regarded as ‘out of reach’ for most Australians.

The new SMAs reflect a significant cross‑functional effort across technology, business, and operations to uplift North’s capability to support both illiquid and semi‑liquid assets on platform.

Neil Rogan, managing director – Head of Distribution, Australia and New Zealand, Russell Investments said: “The convergence of public and private markets is reshaping portfolio construction. Many of today’s capital-intensive growth opportunities are funded privately long before they ever reach listed markets, yet until recently there were limited practical ways for retail clients to access that part of the opportunity set.

“The recent launch of private markets within a managed portfolio structure on platforms like North reflects how the industry is evolving to close that gap. Managed portfolios provide a governed, diversified way to incorporate private market exposure, which is what makes this innovation meaningful for advisers and their clients.”

Michael Bova, Family Wealth Advisory managing director said: “The ability to harness private markets within a disciplined managed discretionary account is a powerful step forward for the industry and also enhances governance. We’ve increasingly integrated private markets into our wholesale portfolios because they provide access to sources of return that simply aren’t available in listed markets.
“Private equity, private credit, and real assets offer operational alpha and an illiquidity premium that can materially improve long-term real return outcomes for clients who have the time horizon and liquidity profile to accommodate them.”

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David Hutchison

Key points

• Newly-launched biannual report by North explores why 2025 is a tipping point for managed account adoption
• 24.6% annual increase in AUM for managed accounts in Australia, rising to $256.24 billion in AUM according to the latest figures.^[1]
• Two in three advisers now use managed portfolios^[2], yet only about one-third of advised assets are in managed portfolios^[3], highlighting significant opportunity for growth

AMP’s inaugural North Managed Portfolios Insights Report finds 2025 is the tipping point: managed portfolios have moved from an efficiency play to the default operating system for advice – driven by advisers seeking stronger governance, less implementation risk and more client time.

The numbers tell a compelling story. According to the latest IMAP and Milliman Census, total Australian managed portfolio assets under management (AUM) reached $256.24 billion as of 30 June 2025 – representing close to 25% growth year-on-year.

At the same time North has just achieved its fastest half year of growth, with managed portfolio AUM surging by more than $2.7 billion during the period to reach $21.8 billion as of 30 June 2025 thanks to flows and market movement – a 37% increase over the past year.

The biannual report draws on expert insights from independent advisers, asset consultants and some of the foremost thinkers in investment management.

By examining the investment trends and themes shaping managed portfolios today, North’s Managed Portfolios Insights Report provides advice practices across Australia—and those exploring managed accounts for the first time—with a clear view of the structural transformation underway in wealth management.

Key Findings

• Record Growth: Managed portfolio assets under management in Australia reached $256.24 billion at June 2025, a 24.6% year-on-year increase.
• Boutiques break through: While the top managers still command the bulk of industry assets, the report shows rapid growth from challengers, with challenger managers fast gaining traction as advisers diversify their manager line-ups to access global capability, alternatives and ESG-focused strategies at scale.
• Adviser Adoption: Managed portfolios have shifted from niche solutions to the centre of advice delivery, offering advisers better governance, streamlined compliance, and more time for client conversations. Two thirds of advisers now use managed accounts^[2], yet only about one-third of advised assets^[3] are in managed portfolios, highlighting significant room for growth.
• Innovation and Customisation: The next wave of growth will be driven by customisation, technology integration and the inclusion of alternative assets, as well as private markets and sustainable investments.
  As an example, North’s “Blend” style solutions are gaining popularity, merging off-the-shelf efficiency with adviser control.
  Launched in June, North innovative ‘Blend’ offer enables advisers who are seeking the efficiencies of managed portfolios (but may not have the scale just yet) to partially customise according to their clients’ needs at a holistic ‘Portfolio Series’ level supports advice practices who want to tailor model portfolios realise the practice efficiency and client improvements from managing a model portfolio solution.
• Global Perspective: Australia’s transformation reflects global trends, with managed portfolios becoming the default architecture of advice in the US and UK. Regulatory changes are accelerating adoption and innovation worldwide.

Notes:
[1] Source: IMAP FUM Census report for 2025. Data as at 30 June 2025
[2] Source: 16th SPDR ETFs / Investment Trends Managed Accounts Report
[3] Source: NMG Consulting

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North’s new menu was launched in response to adviser feedback and is designed for clients who have simpler investment needs. Advisers will be able to blend across investment menus as advice needs change, a unique point of differentiation for North and clients on the menu will also have access to family fee aggregation.

Designed to help improve access to quality advice, Grow aims to help more Australians receive the guidance they need while enabling advice practices to expand their reach and service more clients.

Addressing key pain points for advice practices

While the proportion of Australians seeking professional advice has remained stable over the past four years, a widening affordability gap and rising delivery costs continue to stand in the way of most Australians receiving financial advice[1].

The financial advice landscape is rapidly changing, with advisers facing increasing pressure to provide high-quality advice to a growing number of clients with unmet advice needs while also navigating increasing barriers to access, according to Adviser Ratings.

Grow is designed to alleviate these challenges by offering a streamlined and cost-effective solution that caters to clients with simpler investment needs, as well as ensuring advisers can leverage the unique benefits of North by blending across menus and not being restricted to a single menu.

Grow allows advisers to focus on delivering personalised advice without the burden of account fees or complex administrative costs.
Meanwhile, clients on the new investment menu can also access our award-winning MyNorth Lifetime solution, unique to North, which delivers retirement income for life at no additional cost. This means advisers can add significant value to lower balance clients in the accumulation phase and engage them earlier on in their advice journey as their needs evolve and become more complex.

Supporting adviser growth and efficiency

With North Grow, advisers can benefit from a range of features designed to enhance their practice’s efficiency and effectiveness:
Simplified Pricing: No account fees, no tiered administration fees, and simple investment fees, making it a cost-effective solution for clients.

Flexibility: Grow easily caters to clients as their investment needs change, offering family fee aggregation for multi-generational households on North

Mix and match: Clients can seamlessly mix their investments across North’s Grow, Select, and Choice menus, with platform pricing blended accordingly.

Focused Managed Portfolios: Curated portfolios that cater to a range of risk profiles, freeing up advisers’ time to better serve their clients and grow their practice.

David Hutchison, General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments, AMP said: “Advice practices large and small face a real challenge in efficiently meeting the needs of everyday Australians in a cost-effective way, some of whom are earlier on in their accumulation journey or who have not sought advice previously.

“By offering a simplified pricing structure and unique managed portfolios, North Grow makes it easier for advisers to provide quality advice to clients who may have been previously under-served. This initiative is an exciting step towards ensuring that more Australians have access to the financial guidance they need to achieve their investment goals – all without the traditional account fees.”

“We recognise that amid the rising cost of living, many Australians aren’t getting advice for the things that matter, despite the lasting impact and benefits of an ongoing advice relationship.

Gai Ferrington, General Manager of Product and Pricing, AMP said: “North is committed to supporting advisers in their mission to provide quality advice to all Australians at every stage of their investment journey.

“The launch of North Grow is testament to this commitment, offering a valuable new investment menu that helps advisers meet the diverse needs of their clients while maintaining the highest standards of service.”

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Edwina Maloney

AMP is pleased to announce the expansion of North’s managed account menu with three exciting new additions for the June quarter.

The additions of BondAdviser, MST Income and Elston Income managed portfolio series to North provides advisers with greater flexibility and choice when it comes to creating tailored managed portfolio solutions – particularly for clients seeking income protection, certainty and fixed income in retirement.

The portfolios aim to provide retirees with more options to generate steady income and preserve their capital, while also limiting downside risk in the face of volatile markets.

The announcement follows the launch of practice level customisation last month thanks to North’s partnership with BlackRock and Lonsec Investment Solutions, with North continuing to evolve its managed portfolio offering and the breadth of its investment menu to meet the changing needs of advice practices large and small.
Along with its market-leading MyNorth Lifetime solution, managed accounts have been central to North attracting many new advisers, with funds under management growing from $2 billion to almost $20 billion in just four years^[1].

Announced yesterday, the new Buy menu additions brings the number of managed portfolios on North to over 165 across 27 managers, supported by almost 400 Build portfolios across almost every consultant in the market.

Retirement made easy for income-seeking investors

Founded in 2017, MST Income is a dedicated division within MST Financial, specialising in tailored income solutions for wealth managers and institutional investors. Offering exposure to hybrid securities, the MST Fixed Income Portfolio targets clients who are in the retirement phase. It provides exposure to a defensive asset class while still delivering high income and will help clients manage the phased transition from hybrids.

With its income-focused design, the Elston Income Series is specifically developed for retirees and income-seeking investors. This portfolio generates higher income paid out more frequently than traditional portfolios, providing better cash flow matching to meet regular income needs. It combines income generation with the preservation of future income capacity, maintaining the ability to balance higher income with long-term capital growth.

Employee-owned fixed income and credit provider BondAdviser has over 10 years of experience in managing fixed-income portfolios, building their strategies on rich data points, algorithms, and qualitative analysis. The BondAdviser Fixed-Income Portfolio is a unique addition to the platform, offering a new value proposition by bringing fixed-income exposure to clients.

This portfolio is focused on fixed-income assets and is uniquely placed to capitalise on the growing demand for alternatives among both advisers and their clients on-platform.

Edwina Maloney, AMP Group Executive, Platforms said: “Our mission is to be the home for retirement income solutions in Australia and that means ensuring advisers are well supported with efficient, market-leading tech and solutions to help their clients prepare for and thrive in retirement.

“We’re delivering that in several ways: one is through innovation and the fantastic retirement solutions we have on offer – such as MyNorth Lifetime Super.

“We’re also continuing to expand our investment menu to meet the changing needs of practices today, working with the industry’s leading investment managers to provide advisers and their clients with access to high quality products both in and near retirement.

“The beauty about our platform and solution is North’s open architecture. By giving advisers access to a broad and diverse range of investment options, we’re empowering them to tailor strategies that truly suit their clients’ individual needs and goals.

“This flexibility not only supports better client outcomes, but also gives advisers the freedom and confidence to adapt as markets and client circumstances change. North’s open architecture is all about putting choice, transparency and control in the hands of advisers, so they can deliver the best possible advice every time.”

David Hutchison, AMP’s General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments said: “We’re passionate about empowering and enabling advisers with access to choice and flexibility through North, thanks to our long-standing partnerships with world class investment managers.

“That’s why we’re excited to be teaming up again with MST Financial for their Fixed Income series, providing our advisers with optionality and confidence when it comes to retirement income solutions for their clients. The addition of the MST Income, Elston Income and BondAdviser series highlights our commitment to growing the breadth of our offer.

“We have the fastest growing offer in the market and we’ll continue to focus on expanding the breadth of our menu, helping ensure North is the easiest platform for advisers to do business with.”

———

Notes:
[1] Total FUM for North Managed Portfolios $19.7 billion as at 31 March 2025. Source: AMP Q1 25 cashflows and business update

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Edwina Maloney

The latest Blend portfolios bring together BlackRock’s multi-asset investment expertise and global custom model portfolio technology with Lonsec Investment Solutions’ investment manager research and selection capabilities.

North is the only platform in Australia to offer this range to advisers with unique technology to support the North ‘Buy, Badge, Build and Blend’ capability.

North is announcing the evolution of its model portfolio offering with its new ‘Blend’ capability, as the first in a series of enhancements aimed at democratising access to model portfolios for advice practices large and small.

For advisers who have traditionally been left out when it comes to accessing model portfolios, North is helping to bridge the gap with a solution that, in a market-first, means asset customisation of a model portfolio can now be realised at the advice practice level.

Expected to be the first of many, this new ‘Blend’ opportunity will appeal to those advice practices who want to generate efficiencies, but don’t want to have a full tailored solution.

Announced yesterday in collaboration with BlackRock and Lonsec Investment Solutions, the new series highlights the market-leading customisation of North as a contemporary platform for advisers, with North uniquely placed with its technology to deliver the ‘Blend’ capability.

The latest portfolios use BlackRock’s multi-asset investment expertise and global custom model portfolio technology, together with Lonsec’s investment manager research and manager selection capabilities to deliver portfolio customisation at scale to advice practices.

Breaking down traditional barriers to adoption

Leveraging the portfolio construction expertise of two of Australia’s leading investment managers, North Blend is available to all advice practices directly and exclusively through North. By helping an adviser bring their investment strategies to life, it addresses many of the traditional barriers to adoption – including personalisation, incumbency and scale.

Advisers will have access to portfolio performance tracking and dedicated content support allowing them to monitor their holdings, performance, and access trade notices and market commentaries that can be white-labelled for their client base.

Tailored with ease

North has seen a 50% increase in advisers using MyNorth model portfolios over the last two years, with North now being the third largest and fastest growing managed account platform provider in the market with over $20 billion in funds under management.

North Blend offers eligible advisers the ability to tailor the portfolios to meet the needs of their advice practice within agreed guardrails.

The new series follows the introduction of existing client account level asset customisation launched together with BlackRock and Lonsec last year.

Katie Petering, Head of Investment Strategy, BlackRock Australasia said: “We are delighted to continue our collaboration with AMP and Lonsec through the launch of tailored model portfolio solutions on the North platform.

“Drawing on our 30+ years of experience in managing multi-asset portfolios and global technology for customising model portfolios, this collaboration enables advisory practices to tailor highly sophisticated managed accounts to suit their end-clients’ investment preferences– something that was previously out of reach.

“As pioneers of model portfolios in Australia, we are excited to continue innovating to democratise access to these portfolios and accelerate the adoption of managed accounts in the industry.”

Nathan Lim, Chief Investment Officer at Lonsec Investment Solutions said: “We are thrilled to work with AMP and BlackRock to bring this solution to the Australian adviser market. This new managed portfolio solution will enable practices using North to create a suite of tailored portfolios – a first-of-its-kind solution to be offered by an Australian platform.

“The Blend portfolios will be supported by Lonsec Investment Solution’s unrivalled manager selection and consulting expertise, as well as our broader end-to-end managed account capabilities supporting licensees, financial advisers, and their clients. We expect this solution will enable more advice practices to be able to reap the benefits of managed accounts for their businesses and clients.”

David Hutchison, AMP’s General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments said: “Not all advice practices want an off-the-shelf or full-tailored solution.  To date, these practices have been ‘forgotten’ by platforms.  We’re really excited to support advice practices large and small with a tailored entry point into managed accounts, by providing them with the capability to tailor portfolios without a full build – and create a way they can benefit from model portfolios, while still using their current approach to portfolio construction as part of their advice proposition.
“The new Blend solution, only available on North, creates opportunities for advisers who don’t fully outsource investment selection to step into model portfolios for the client and adviser benefits.

“North is there to support advisers no matter how they want to build portfolios and we are the only platform with manager-level customisation of model portfolios, accounting for 16% of all advised assets and a fast-growing segment that has been totally untapped by model portfolios to date.”

Edwina Maloney, AMP Group Executive, Platforms said: “At North, we’re focused on helping practices deliver great advice to their clients more efficiently. That’s why we’re thrilled to be extending our collaboration with BlackRock and Lonsec to help more advice practices across Australia bridge the gap between off-the-shelf and fully tailored private label model portfolio solutions.”

“Through this innovative new offer, we’re helping practices accelerate their efficiency by creating tailored, high-quality investment portfolios for their clients which are governed, managed and administered by world class asset managers utilising world class tech.

“In less than four years, our managed portfolios have grown tenfold and continue to be the fastest growing offer in market thanks to the support from our advisers, asset consultants and fund managers we work with.”

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Edwina Maloney

AMP is pleased to announce the expansion of North’s managed account menu with the inclusion of three new managers for the March quarter, providing advisers with optionality and choice on-platform.

The additions of Innova Asset Management, AZ Sestante, and Watershed Funds Management underline North’s commitment to growth and expanding the breadth of its investment menu.

North’s managed accounts, along with its unique Lifetime solution, have been central to North attracting many new advisers, and the addition of these new managers and portfolios is in response to growing demand from new and existing advisers alike.  These additions brings the number of “buy” managed portfolios to over 150 across 25 managers, which are supported by almost 400 Build portfolios across almost every consultant in the market.

Lifting practice efficiency with managed accounts

Managed account adoption has reached a record high, with the latest findings revealing nearly 3 in 5 advisers in Australia now use managed accounts in their client portfolios, up from 1 in 5 a decade ago[1]. Advisers and their support staff are saving an average 23.9 hours per week from using managed accounts in their practice, the data shows, amounting to over 1,200 hours saved each year^[1].

Responding to adviser feedback and the rising demand for managed accounts, North continues to invest in the breadth of its buy menu, providing advisers and clients with innovative investment solutions that align with their financial objectives.

Today’s strategic additions to North’s managed account menu underscores our dedication to offering diverse and effective portfolio options for advisers and clients at each step of their investment journey.

Data-driven decision making and model portfolio expertise

Boutique investment management firm Innova Asset Management brings a multi-disciplinary approach to investment management, offering risk-focused portfolio solutions tailored to individual client needs. Innova focuses on understanding investment risk intricacies through a systematic, rule-based approach to portfolio construction.

AZ Sestante offers expertise in designing and managing multi-manager model portfolios, providing a robust, repeatable process designed to meet all market conditions. Their cost-effective investment strategies are aimed at guiding advisers and investors to achieve their investment goals and objectives.

Watershed Funds Management partners with North through their ’embedded models’ approach, which enables strategic positioning throughout the investment cycle. By testing economic and market outlooks against current market pricing, Watershed identifies and holds high-quality companies for the medium to long term across all asset classes.

Gearing in super – an ‘Australian-first’

North and Betashares have combined to create the first targeted geared retirement series of its kind in Australia. The series marks an extension of North’s partnership with BetaShares with the addition of BetaShares’ Dynamic Managed Accounts range to North as well as jointly launching a series of Federated Managed Accounts to clients in August.

Unveiled yesterday, the innovative geared managed portfolio series on North is designed to increase exposure to defensive assets and income, offering a cost-effective way to leverage exposure to the share market.

The Betashares Moderately Geared Managed Account Portfolios access leverage through internally geared ETFs. These ETFs borrow at institutional interest rates that are considerably lower than those typically available to individual investors.

The portfolios are especially beneficial when combined with our award-winning MyNorth Lifetime offer, catering to the varying needs of investors leading up to and post-retirement.

David Hutchison, AMP’s General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments said: “The additions of AZ Sestante, Innova Asset Management and Watershed Funds Management highlight our commitment to growing the breadth of our offer, providing advisers with choice and optionality with several exciting new additions to our Buy Menu.

“We’re also thrilled to be expanding our partnership with BetaShares to launch a unique geared retirement series on North, the first of its kind in the Australian market.

“It’s another example of how North continues to innovate in retirement solutions, ensuring we are the platform of choice for more advisers across Australia.”

Edwina Maloney, AMP Group Executive, Platforms said: “At North, we have a singular focus on ensuring our platform continues to set the pace by partnering with best-of-breed managers to provide advisers and their clients with access to high quality solutions and investment offerings to suit different client segments and needs.

“This is our largest ever Buy Menu refresh and firmly places North at the forefront of the market when it comes to the quality, choice and breadth of investment options that we provide to advisers and their practices.

“We have the fastest growing managed portfolios offer in Australia and continue to work with the industry’s leading investment managers to provide members with access to high quality products.”

———-

Notes:
[1] Source: The 16th SPDR ETFs / Investment Trends Managed Accounts Report

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Edwina Maloney

AMP has made several enhancements to its MyNorth Sustainable managed portfolios in line with our commitment to customers.

As a core ESG principle, the portfolios invest in funds where managers influence the companies they invest in with respect to environmental, social and governance matters.

In addition to a stronger alignment of the portfolios with sustainability objectives and improving diversification, management fees are now lower for all options, with a reduction of at least five basis points across the three portfolios.

The MyNorth Sustainable Portfolios, which launched in 2020, are multi‑manager, multi-asset portfolios designed to encourage positive social and environmental outcomes while achieving competitive investment returns. Specifically, the portfolios are constructed using a responsible and sustainable framework based on three objectives^[1].

These include the transition to a low carbon environment, avoiding material investments in industries which may cause harm and encouraging positive sustainable, social and environmental outcomes.

Growing demand for ESG solutions and responsible investment

Consumer research shows more Australians are prioritising responsible investment, with 88% of Australians expecting their super or other investments to be invested responsibly and ethically (up from 83% in 2022)^[2].

The move to improve North’s sustainability footprint follows a periodic review of the MyNorth Sustainable Portfolios in the September quarter, as North responds to growing demand for ESG solutions and recognition from advisers of the importance of aligning investment strategies with client beliefs.

One of the goals of the review has been to increase exposure to asset classes where our managers are able to exercise greater influence on companies to achieve more sustainable outcomes and better execute on its objectives.

As a result of these observations, AMP reduced the allocation to Alternatives across all three MyNorth risk profiles by between 6 and 8% during the September quarter. That allocation was equally distributed between Equities and Australian Fixed income, while maintaining a consistent allocation to growth and defensive assets within each portfolio.

AMP also made several manager changes – divesting the Vanguard Ethically Conscious International Shares (Unhedged) Fund, reducing exposure to the Impax Sustainable Leaders Fund and allocating that equally across AXA IM Sustainable Equity Fund, Janus Henderson Global Sustainable Fund and Dimensional Global Sustainability Trust.

Each of these funds has been carefully considered to align with MyNorth portfolios’ sustainability principles and objectives. They also bring specific investment traits to the portfolio (either style or cap bias), increasing the overall diversification.

Recently, North was recognised by independent financial research consultancy SuitabilityHub as an industry leader in the areas of retirement, cashflow management and account management, backed by competitive platform fees and cash offering and rates^[3].

David Hutchison, AMP’s General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments said: “We know there is strong demand from advisers and their clients for sustainable and ethics driven investment options, with research showing responsible investment now accounts for over one-third of the investment market in Australia.

“At North, we’re constantly looking at ways to innovate with a modern digital offering that provides advisers with a broad investment menu to suit advisers with wide ranging investor needs – particularly those seeking investment options that can deliver sustainable outcomes over the long term.
“At the same time, we’re seeing rapid growth in the managed portfolio market given the transparency, governance, cost and administrative benefits they provide. AMP’s total managed portfolio assets under management has increased nearly ten-fold in the space of four years, rising from $2 billion to $17.9 billion in the last quarter and continuing to grow in Q4.”

Edwina Maloney, AMP Group Executive, Platforms said: “North was one of the first wrap platforms to offer sustainable managed portfolios in Australia, providing advisers and their clients with more investment options aligned with their values without compromising performance. We’re pleased to continue that tradition by enhancing our MyNorth Sustainable range to deliver greater diversification benefits and improved, sustainable outcomes for our members.

“Our rapid growth over the past 12 months reflects the investments we’ve made to the platform, including technology upgrades and continuing to expand our managed portfolio range which is the fastest growing in the market.

“We know advisers value choice and flexibility while keeping fees low for their clients and we’ve made these latest changes to improve our MyNorth Sustainable managed portfolios’ investment and sustainability characteristics.
“Over the coming months, we’ll continue to target our enhancements for North toward the three aspects that are most important for advisers and their clients in a wrap platform: better retirement solutions, improvement investment choice, ease of administration and value for money.”

———

Notes:
[1] The portfolios are managed via a joint effort between the Perpetual multi-asset and AMP Investments teams
[2] From Values to Riches 2024: Responsible Investment Association Australasia. From-Values-to-Riches-2024_RIAA.pdf
[3] 2024 Platform Market Wrap Report: SuitabilityHub.

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Sharyn Baker has joined as Director of Operations, with Mike Way appointed earlier this year as Director for Strategy and Transformation. Both roles are newly-created positions in AMP’s Platforms business.

In addition, David Hutchison has been appointed as General Manager of Managed Portfolios and Investments, focusing on partnering with our North advisers to develop market-leading managed portfolio solutions and helping North to continue its trajectory as the fastest-growing managed portfolio business in the market.

Sharyn Baker is an experienced financial services leader with over 20 years of experience in leading and implementing large-scale change, driving innovation and embedding high performing cultures across various organisations including NAB and MLC as well as working in a consulting capacity for several wealth management and Financial Services clients.
She joins AMP after working for BT Financial for the past eight years, where she was most recently Head of Service and Operations. In her new role, Sharyn will be accountable for the end-to-end administration, client servicing, investment operations, third-party relationships, data and risk and compliance functions across Platforms.

David Hutchison is an accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in product management, investments, and consulting, including senior roles at MLC and NMG Consulting.
In his new role at AMP, he will be responsible for helping advisers run their investment proposition (including Managed Portfolios) efficiently via the North platform, continuing the strong flow and rapid growth of North as a highly competitive platform. David will work closely with the team on further developing and accelerating growth plans for North’s managed portfolio and investment menu business.

Mike Way joined North earlier this year, bringing 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry both in Australia and globally, having delivered numerous large and complex strategic transformations impacting up to 100,000 staff and 20 million customers at a time.

Mike’s most recent role was Strategy Partner at Deloitte, working with Executive teams and Boards to improve organisational performance through growth strategies, digital and data strategy, customer experience design, business and operating model design, and transformation execution. Mike is responsible for delivering on North’s growth aspirations through effective strategy design and transformation delivery.

Edwina Maloney, AMP Group Executive, Platforms said: “I am excited for Sharyn, David and Mike to bolster our bench strength at North, as we continue to drive our strategy and transformation plans with a strong focus on product leadership and client servicing of the highest calibre.

“Part of our Platforms strategy is to bring the right capability into our business that will help us turn strategy into action and drive an agile delivery approach to transformation.

“Our new hires bring broad market experience and are all keenly aware of the strength of our North offer. The next step will be to continue to build on North’s market-competitiveness, extend our adviser footprint and drive greater awareness of North’s leading functionality.

“We have an exciting opportunity to continue to drive innovation through North, differentiating through market-leading retirement solutions like MyNorth Lifetime for both existing and new customers.”

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