René Buehlmann

High conviction fund manager SG Hiscock & Company (SG Hiscock) has become the wholesale distribution partner of abrdn in the Australian market, effective yesterday. The firm has also successfully completed the transfer of the abrdn Australian equity investment management business.

It follows the announcement in December last year that SG Hiscock and abrdn had entered into a strategic partnership whereby SG Hiscock would distribute abrdn’s international funds to the Australian market. The investment management of the abrdn Australian Small Companies Fund and the abrdn ex-20 Australian Equities Fund would also transfer to SG Hiscock.

SG Hiscock chief executive, Giles Croker, said the response from investors has been very supportive given the clear investment synergies between the two organisations. 

“Both SG Hiscock and abrdn have been committed to ensuring all clients continue to be looked after during this time.

“In the short term, our focus will be on integrating the transferring staff into our business and creating a unified culture that ultimately benefits our combined investor base.

“As part of the transition, business development, consultant relations, marketing and client service staff have now moved across to our firm, ensuring continuity of services, relationships, and knowledge,” he said.

The Ex-20 Australian Equities and the Australian Small Companies funds will continue to be maintained as separate funds and there will be no changes to the investment objective or investment universe.

“We’re pleased portfolio manager, Shawn Lee and assistant portfolio manager Philip Li, have transferred across to SG Hiscock to continue managing the two Australian equities funds.

“Investment continuity has been critical to the transition process, and having Shawn and Philip continuing to manage the abrdn funds will ensure a high level of integration between the teams from the outset,” he said.

René Buehlmann, chief executive – Asia Pacific at abrdn, said: “Growth in Asia Pacific is a strategic priority for abrdn, and Australia is an important part of that market. The partnership with SG Hiscock is in response to the need for greater local scale to be successful in delivering the best outcomes for Australian investors. The transfer of Australian equity strategies and key investment and wholesale distribution staff in support of that, allows abrdn to focus on providing differentiated investment solutions to Australian investors, including global and Asian sustainable products across asset classes.”

The two transferring Australian equity strategies have performed strongly over the past six months, with the Australian Small Companies Fund in particular delivering top quartile performance over the six-month period to 31 December 2022, with 5.3 per cent outperformance relative to the benchmark.

abrdn funds which SG Hiscock will now be distributing in the local market include the abrdn Global Risk Mitigation Fund, abrdn Multi-Asset Real Return Fund, abrdn Multi-Asset Income Fund, abrdn Sustainable Asian Opportunities Fund, abrdn Sustainable Emerging Opportunities Fund, abrdn Sustainable International Equities Fund, abrdn International Equity Fund, and abrdn Global Corporate Bond Fund.

SG Hiscock is a high conviction fund manager which has been operating in the Australian market for over 20 years and also has a strong distribution capability. It has in excess of $2.3 billion in Funds Under Management (FUM) in house, as well as $1.4 billion of third-party FUM via distribution relationships with some of the world’s leading fund managers, including Morgan Stanley Investment Management, LaSalle Investment Management and abrdn.

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Founder and managing director Stephen Hiscock will continue with the firm as executive chair and chief investment officer.

Mr Croker joined SG Hiscock & Company 20 years ago and was most recently chief financial officer. His transition to the role of chief executive has been in development for a number of years, including having acted as co-chief executive officer with Mr Hiscock for a period of time in 2021.

According to Mr Hiscock, the process in formally appointing Mr Croker to the role has been seamless and well supported by the company board and management team.

“As a business, we undertook the necessary due diligence required on the chief executive appointment and Giles has been regarded as a natural successor for some time.

“He brings extensive financial and business acumen to the table and I’m confident he will continue to lead the business on a positive growth trajectory,” he said.

Mr Hiscock established SG Hiscock & Company in 2001, and has held the roles of managing director and chair since that time. He was previously general manager, chief investment officer and chairman of the Asset Allocation Committee at National Asset Management Limited (NAM).

The appointment of Mr Croker was unanimously endorsed by the board of SG Hiscock & Company. All other executive and management positions within the business remain unchanged.

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