Stewart Investors announced the appointment of Ms Elizabeth Trinh to the role of head of institutional distribution, Asia Pacific (APAC), effective from 11 September 2023.

Building on Stewart Investors long-established presence in Sydney and Singapore, and in recognition of the growing institutional demand for quality and sustainability focused investment solutions in the region, Ms Trinh is responsible for driving the APAC institutional client strategy for the business.

Ms Trinh joins from American Century Investment Management (ACIM), where she spent nearly 14 years in a number of leadership roles across APAC, building out the firm’s presence in the region. Most recently, Ms Trinh was head of American Century investment management (Asia Pacific) Limited where she oversaw the business management of the Hong Kong office and growth in the region, across institutional and wholesale channels. In this capacity, she also headed up APAC asset consultant relationships which resulted in multiple successful buy ratings across a number of investment capabilities.

In addition, Ms Trinh led a multitude of environmental, social and governance initiatives and she was a founding member of the diversity, equity and inclusion committee in ACIM. Prior to AICM, she worked for Macquarie Bank and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Ms Trinh reports to Mr Hugh O’Neill, business head of Stewart Investors in Singapore. She is currently based in Hong Kong and will relocate to Singapore in 2024.

Mr O’Neill said of the appointment: “We are thrilled to welcome Ms Trinh to our fast-growing team in Asia Pacific. Ms Trinh’s proven leadership capabilities, coupled with her two decades of regional and institutional client experience and expertise is an incredible asset to our business.

“The increasing demand we are seeing from institutional investors in the region for quality, sustainability focussed investment strategies coupled with Ms Trinh’s in-depth knowledge and solid track record means this is an incredibly exciting time for us,” concluded Mr O’Neill.

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Tom Clapham has been appointed head of APAC, following the retirement of Tony Archer, and will relocate to Sydney from Singapore. Elizabeth Trinh, who was previously head of Australia and New Zealand for American Century Investments, has been appointed to the newly created role of head of Hong Kong and South East Asia.

In addition, Michelle Kidd, who has been vice president of American Century’s Institutional Advisory Group since 2018, has been appointed to head of Australian and New Zealand institutional business, while Alastair McKibbin will take on the newly created role of head of Australian wholesale business.

Jamie Downing, American Century’s global head of institutional business, says the new appointments further establish the firm’s commitment, expertise and offering in the Asia Pacific region.

“We have long seen the APAC region as an important market in our growth strategy and in the past few years have seen increasing interest across our boutiques, particularly in our actively managed equity and fixed income offerings.

“These appointments will ensure we continue to build strong and enduring relationships with investors in these markets, both institutional and wholesale, at a time when the skills and experience of our investment teams are increasingly valued by clients.”

Mr Clapham joins American Century from Aviva Investors where he was head of Asia, Client Group, a role he has held for almost five years. He has 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry, in Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing, including working with AXA Investment Managers, Macquarie Group and Deutsch Bank. He holds a Masters in Economics and International Business from the University of Sydney

Ms Trinh has been with American Century since 2010. She joined from Macquarie Group where she was an associate manager and has also worked as a tax consultant at KPMG. In the newly created role, she will be responsible for further expanding the company’s actively managed investment capabilities in the southeast Asian markets. She holds a Bachelors in Commerce, Finance and Marketing from the University of Melbourne and a master’s degree through HKUST/NYU Master Science Global Finance.

Ms Kidd has 15 years’ experience in the Australian institutional market, joining American Century from Affiliated Managers Group where she worked for seven years in senior distribution roles.  She has also worked with Investors Mutual as manager, research and institutional business. She holds a Masters in Economics from the University of Sydney.

Mr McKibbin has been with American Century Investments for over three years and will relocate to Sydney from New York where he was vice president, global strategic relationships, with a particular focus on Latin America. He joined American Century from State Street Global Advisors where he was head of ETF Managed Portfolio Solutions for the US SPDR ETF Business. He has also worked at State Street Global Advisors and AllianceBernstein in New York.  He started his career in Australia in 2001, working at ING Australia and Colonial First State. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Sydney.

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Elizabeth Trinh

The American Century Healthcare Impact Equity strategy has been awarded responsible investment certification by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA).

This certification also applies to the Zurich Investments ACI Healthcare Impact Fund which is available to investors in Australia and is distributed by Zurich Investment Management Limited.

While a growing number of Australian-domiciled equity funds are RIAA-certified, only a small number of impact-based funds have passed the test.

The Fund is a differentiated growth portfolio which invests in companies in the health care industry, and has an underlying investment philosophy that aligns with the third United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal of good health and well-being.

American Century’s interim head of Asia Pacific, Elizabeth Trinh, said the manager is particularly pleased that RIAA has certified the strategy as one of a very select number of funds to be recognised for their impact.

“It’s testament to the work by the investment team who employ a number of responsible investing strategies to the process, including negative screening, engagement and voting, and ESG integration.

“All companies in the portfolio undergo analysis on how business improvements align with a positive impact on society. The Fund doesn’t invest in businesses it believes are inconsistent with its objective of generating positive social change.

“The strategy continues to attract strong demand from Australian institutional investors, and we anticipate the certification will only strengthen the level of interest in the Fund,” she said.

The strategy was established in 2018 and currently has $US1.58 billion in assets under management globally. It is a high-conviction portfolio which seeks to provide long-term growth by investing in 30-50 health care companies addressing significant unmet medical needs.

Michael Li, portfolio manager of the Fund, says the global pandemic shone a light on the health care sector as a means of generating both financial and social good.

“Healthcare has the potential to be one of the most rewarding areas for investment in the long term, allowing investors to benefit financially while also supporting a tremendous social good.

“The certification is recognition that our impact investing process is robust and effective. Our approach is to consistently look for those companies who can provide solutions to unmet medical needs, and the ability to do well by doing good has never been more important,” he said.

RIAA CEO Simon O’Connor said: “RIAA’s Responsible Investment Certification Program differentiates quality, true to label responsible investment products which meet the Responsible Investment Standard. We congratulate American Century for meeting not only the high benchmark set for certification for its Healthcare Impact Equity Strategy, but the extra requirements for financial products trading as ‘impact’.”

RIAA is a member-based organisation advocating for responsible investing and a sustainable financial system. It’s comprised of super funds, fund managers, banks, consultants, researchers, brokers and financial advisers, among others.

With 500 members, including American Century Investments, representing US$29 trillion in assets under management, RIAA is the largest and most active network of organisations engaged in responsible, ethical and impact investing across Australia and New Zealand.

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Mr Dhaliwal will be responsible for managing relationships with wholesale and institutional clients, and will work closely with American Century’s head of Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth Trinh, and vice president of the Institutional Advisory Group, Michelle Kidd.

Ms Trinh said American Century has had clients in the Australian market since 2009 and established its Sydney office in 2018. The growth trajectory of the Australian business has exceeded expectations, and the hiring of Mr. Dhaliwal expands the firm’s resources to service clients in the market.

“Noble’s client servicing expertise and experience will be a great asset to the teams we work more closely with in partnership with our clients and prospects. We have a broad array of strong investment capabilities across our global equities, fixed income and multi-asset disciplines.

“We have clients in our global growth, global small cap and health care impact strategies, and there’s continued interest from investors in the market to create custom solutions to meet their specific needs,” she said.

Mr Dhaliwal previously held client services and account management roles with UBS Asset Management and UBS Investment Bank, respectively and, prior to this, served in a relationship management role with AMP Financial Services.

He holds a Bachelor of Business (Finance) & Science in IT (Information Systems Management) from the University of Technology Sydney and is currently undertaking a Graduate Diploma of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.

American Century is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and has approximately AUD$277 billion in assets under management as of November 17, 2020. It currently manages over AUD$2.2 billion in Australian funds under management, from both institutions and platforms.

Mr Dhaliwal will be based in the firm’s Sydney office, with the appointment effective from today.

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Elizabeth Trinh

US-based asset management firm American Century Investments is further expanding into Australia, opening its first office in Sydney and appointing Michelle Kidd to the position of vice president, Institutional Advisory Group.

To bolster the Australian team, Ms Kidd is based in Sydney and reports to Elizabeth Trinh, American Century’s head of Australia and New Zealand, based in Hong Kong.

American Century Investments is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and has approximately US$170 billion in assets under management as of April 20, 2018. It currently manages approximately AUD$2 billion in Australian funds under management, from both institutions and platforms.

Chief client officer Joe Schultz said the establishment of an Australian office is part of an ongoing growth strategy to expand the firm’s global footprint by developing investment solutions for clients and prospects in key markets outside the US.

This is American Century’s third office located outside the US, further underscoring its commitment to global markets.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen a strong level of interest in our investment capabilities and approach in the Australian market, which we have been servicing through a team based in Hong Kong,” Mr Schultz said.

“Our Global Growth Equity strategy is well received by current clients and prospects and we see significant interest in our Global Small Cap and Emerging Market Equity strategies. We also plan to introduce to the region our Emerging Market Debt and Global Fixed Income capabilities in the coming year.”

The Australian investment landscape is one of global significance and it is important to have the resources and the expertise in place to properly assist a growing regional investor base, according to Tony Archer, American Century’s Asia Pacific business head.

“As a result of this increasing interest in our strategies, we decided to open an office in Australia so there’s a dedicated team to work more closely in partnership with our clients, in addition to the team based in the Hong Kong office,” Mr Archer added.

“I’m delighted to welcome Michelle to the team. Her experience in the institutional market in Australia will be key to continuing to build our capabilities and expanding our offering in the local market. She will work closely with me to firmly establish American Century’s presence in Australia,” Ms Trinh said.

In the newly created role, Ms Kidd will support the growing demand for the company’s offerings in the Australian market. She will be presenting American Century’s investment management capabilities to financial intermediaries and institutional investors across Australia.

Ms Kidd has over 12 years of industry experience. She was most recently with global multi-boutique asset management company, Affiliated Managers Group (AMG), where she was director of Australian distribution, representing institutional investment capabilities, including equities and alternatives. Prior to that, she was a manager of research and institutional business for Investors Mutual Limited.

Ms Kidd graduated from the University of Sydney with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics and finance.

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