Melanie McQuire

After over four years of service, Sophia Rahmani has resigned from the role of CEO and managing director of Maple-Brown Abbott Limited.

Since joining Maple-Brown Abbott in October 2019, Ms Rahmani has played a leading role in expanding Maple-Brown Abbott’s investment capabilities, products and distribution channels.

She will step down from all Maple-Brown Abbott boards and committees effective immediately, and will work closely with the Board and the Maple-Brown Abbott leadership team to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities and continuity for clients. The Maple-Brown Abbott Limited Board will continue to drive Maple-Brown Abbott’s strategic direction during the transition to a permanent replacement.

The Maple-Brown Abbott Limited Board has appointed Melanie McQuire as Maple-Brown Abbott Limited acting CEO and as a member of the Maple-Brown Abbott Limited Board, effective immediately. Ms McQuire joined Maple-Brown Abbott in September 2020 as chief operating officer.

Ms McQuire has outstanding experience in the financial services industry, joining Maple-Brown Abbott from Lazard Asset Management where she was chief operating officer, Asia Pacific, for eight years. Prior to this she spent seven years at Macquarie Asset Management and four years at ING Investment Management.

Ms McQuire currently sits on the Maple-Brown Abbott Funds p.l.c. Board and has previously served in the role of acting CEO.

The role of Maple-Brown Abbott Limited CEO and managing director does not include direct investment responsibilities and these will continue to be fulfilled by chief investment officer Garth Rossler and the relevant heads of investment strategies.

Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure Pty Limited continues to be managed as a discrete entity by its managing director and other co-founders, and there will be no changes to the management or operations of this business.

Maple-Brown Abbott is proud of the strong long-term investment performance across all its investment strategies, which has been delivered through consistent investment philosophies and processes and enduring operational excellence.

The Maple-Brown Abbott Limited Board would like to thank Ms Rahmani for her work with Maple-Brown Abbott and wishes her all the best for the future. The Board looks forward to working with Ms McQuire in her new role as acting CEO and Board member to continue to provide outstanding investment products and service to all Maple-Brown Abbott’s clients.

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Garth Rossler

A degree of complacency may see some investors surprised by potential features of the year ahead, including uncertainty around corporate earnings and elevated commodity prices continuing longer than expected, according to Maple-Brown Abbott.

Chief investment officer Garth Rossler said investors waiting for signs that monetary tightening had peaked to add to equity positions reflecting the successes of the past decade could be disappointed.

“What happens to corporate earnings is perhaps the biggest uncertainty facing investors in 2023,” he says. “Higher interest rates help to rein in inflation, but at least some of this will be achieved through reducing economic growth.

“At a market level, we see risks among the premium-rated growth and yield stocks where valuations have not yet fully adjusted to a higher interest rate environment.

“There has been little in the way of consensus earnings downgrades for Industrials in Australia, but we are starting to see some movement in the US. Of most interest is what is happening in the Tech sector, which enjoyed an extraordinary uplift in earnings during COVID, though those earnings have started to decline.

“Meanwhile, we see opportunities for investors in the energy and broader resources space over the medium term, albeit with the risk of shorter-term volatility given the uncertainties associated with the re-opening of China. Commodity prices remain elevated and we see potential for this to last longer than expected, with supply constrained by underinvestment and ongoing geopolitical turmoil.

“With the rapid rise in interest rates already observed, and the likelihood of further increases, we see opportunities in companies that benefit from this shift such as insurers and banks. We also see a number of opportunities in out-of-favour companies with depressed earnings or multiples,” Mr Rossler said.

On Australian small-caps, Phillip Hudak, co-portfolio manager of Australian Small Companies, says earnings sentiment is broadly in line with the long-term average, although there is potential for material earnings downgrades to come through over the next 12 months.

“For investors, this means a shift towards companies with predictable earnings or structural earnings growth that are less at risk of earnings downgrades in an economic slowdown.

“Australian small cap market valuations are now looking reasonable relative to long-term averages.

“However, investors need to be selective in the current environment. We see an opportunity for quality cyclicals over the course of 2023 as COVID beneficiaries fully unwind and cyclical earnings expectations are re-based with potential oversold share prices.”

Mr Hudak says Australia is better positioned than many other countries, with the impact on company earnings from higher interest rates and rising living costs likely to be delayed given the RBA has been later with initiating interest rate increases, and more measured in the speed of its approach, opting to see the flow through impacts to the real economy.

“Corporate balance sheets in the Australian small cap market are in good shape at this point in the cycle. In addition, the domestic consumer is in a better position relative to global peers given the still elevated savings rate.”

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They were previously co-portfolio managers of the AMP Capital Australian Emerging Companies Fund for the past four years, and will bring their highly regarded investment philosophy and process to Maple-Brown Abbott. They will report to chief investment officer Garth Rossler.

Maple-Brown Abbott CEO Sophia Rahmani says that the lift-out is a key development in Maple-Brown Abbott’s long-term growth strategy.

“The opportunity to add this sought-after capability through the appointment of two highly experienced investment professionals is ideal for us.

“Our people and our platform allow us to efficiently add and support new investment teams, and we expect to launch an Australian small companies fund soon after Phillip and Matt start.

“Being a privately owned boutique investment manager with a long history of strong client alignment and quality investment capabilities means that when we identify solutions that align with our strategy and our clients’ interests, we can add them relatively quickly and efficiently.

“In the past 12 months, we have broadened our offering from three investment strategies – broad-cap Australian equities, Asia-Pacific equities and global listed infrastructure – to five, with global emerging markets and now Australian small companies. We continue to see institutional and adviser interest in actively managed, differentiated investment strategies,” she said.

Mr Rossler added that Mr Hudak and Mr Griffin are passionate and experienced investors who are culturally aligned with Maple-Brown Abbott.

“Phillip and Matt have a proven investment process with an earnings focus and market-leading sustainability framework, which they will continue at Maple-Brown Abbott.

“We look forward to engaging with the market with this quality offering.”

Both Mr Hudak and Mr Griffin have extensive Australian small cap equity portfolio management and fundamental stock research experience. The AMP Australian small caps strategy was launched in February 2013 and managed by Mr Hudak, then co-managed by Mr Hudak and Mr Griffin from March 2018 to March 2022.

Before AMP Capital, Mr Hudak was a small caps analyst at ING Investment Management and earlier worked as an analyst at MIR Investment Management and an investment consultant with Russell Investment Group. Mr Griffin was Investment Director at IFM Investors where he was integral to the launch of the IFM Australia small caps and micro caps strategy, and a small caps analyst at Macquarie Asset Management.

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Ms Pringle has a background in product governance and sustainability across superannuation, investments and insurance, gained at BT, most recently as head of customer governance and sustainability. Prior to this, she held strategy and operations roles in BT’s private wealth, superannuation, investments, platforms and advice divisions. Ms Pringle has also served as co-chair of the Australian Sustainable Finance Initiative (ASFI) technical working group on meeting community expectations.

Over the past 12 months, while in a maternity cover role, Ms Pringle has built on Maple-Brown Abbott’s long established ESG program.

This includes joining two leading investor collaborations aligned to Maple-Brown Abbott’s ESG focus areas: Climate Action 100+ and Investors Against Slavery and Trafficking Asia-Pacific. Maple-Brown Abbott also confirmed its commitment to managing climate risk, becoming a signatory to both the ‘Transition Pathway Initiative’ and the ‘Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’.

In her role, Ms Pringle will have oversight of the ESG process for all MBA’s Australian and Asian equity strategies and at the corporate level. In 2020, Georgia Hall was appointed to the newly created role of ESG Analyst for the Maple-Brown Abbott Global Listed Infrastructure business, an affiliate of MBA, to provide dedicated oversight of the Global Listed Infrastructure ESG process. Ms Pringle and Ms Hall have worked closely together over the past year on these important firm-wide initiatives.

“Emma’s appointment reflects Maple-Brown Abbott’s continued investment in the ESG space and how seriously we view integrating ESG factors into our investment process across all of our portfolios,” said Sophia Rahmani, Maple-Brown Abbott CEO and managing director.

“We expect this will be even more important as risks around climate change and social issues like modern slavery become more prevalent. Emma brings market-leading experience and talent and I’m confident that under her oversight we will continue to be a leader in ESG.

“Maple-Brown Abbott has been a signatory to the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2008 and was again being awarded an A+ for its approach in 2020. We have a long-standing commitment to integrating ESG factors into our investment process across each of our investment strategies. Our ESG strategy was formalised in 2008, one of the earliest for Australian-based boutiques, when the Board approved the first ESG policy and we became a signatory to the PRI.”

Emma’s appointment follows the departure of Natasha McKean as ESG investment analyst after she decided to take up a position in Brisbane, where she lives, following her maternity leave.

Garth Rossler, chief investment officer, said Ms McKean had been pivotal in developing and implementing MBA strategies over a decade.

“We thank Natasha for her immense contribution to Maple-Brown Abbott and wish her well for her future endeavours,” Mr Rossler said.

“With her strong ESG background, Emma will continue to build on what Natasha started. ESG considerations are playing an increasingly important role in our clients’ portfolios with the transition to net zero,” he said.

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