Grant Kennaway

In today’s investment landscape, the role of an investment research provider has never been more important. Financial advisers are operating in an increasingly complex environment, navigating product proliferation, and rising regulatory expectations, all while trying to deliver the best possible outcomes for their clients.

Amid this complexity, access to quality investment research is essential. But not all research providers offer the same level of value. So, what should advisers be looking for when choosing a research partner?

1. Objectivity & alignment with your advice

Investment research providers play a critical role in supporting the advice process, which makes objectivity essential. The most valuable insights come from research teams that are focused solely on assessing investment quality and the likelihood a fund will achieve its investment objectives. This clarity of purpose allows the research provider to remain aligned with advisers and their clients, supporting unbiased decision-making and defensible recommendations.

Our ratings are based solely on the merits of each strategy. We believe this research-first approach allows us to provide advisers with a level of transparency and integrity they can rely on.

2. A structured & repeatable research process

A consistent and transparent investment process is the foundation of high-quality research. Rather than relying on reactive analysis or surface-level data, quality research providers implement a repeatable methodology that combines deep qualitative insights with rigorous quantitative evaluation.

This means going beyond past performance and assessing the sustainability of a manager’s edge, the robustness of their philosophy and process, and how they manage risk across changing conditions.

At Zenith, our research process has been developed over decades and refined to ensure it can identify funds with strong potential for long-term outperformance. Every product we assess is reviewed through the same structured lens, giving advisers confidence in the consistency and reliability of our views.

3. Breadth of coverage, delivered by specialists

Today’s advisers need access to high-quality insights across a wide universe of investment strategies, including listed and unlisted funds, ETFs, and Private Markets. But breadth only matters when it’s paired with depth.

A quality research provider combines extensive coverage with specialised knowledge, ensuring that each fund is assessed by analysts who understand the intricacies of that specific asset class or investment style.

Zenith’s research team is structured to deliver both. With sector-specialised analysts covering every major area of the market, our coverage spans hundreds of investment products without compromising the depth of due diligence or the quality of insights.

4. Experienced analysts who are accessible

Behind every strong research provider is a team of experienced analysts. Deep industry knowledge, and consistency of personnel all contribute to the value and reliability of research.

Zenith’s team is made up of long-tenured analysts who bring deep expertise and a collaborative mindset. We pride ourselves on being accessible to the advisers we support, whether through one-on-one discussions, briefings, or events.

5. Clear, practical & transparent outputs

Research should empower advisers, not overwhelm them.

High-quality research is well-articulated, easy to navigate, and designed to support real-world advice conversations. Advisers need to understand not just what the rating is, but why it was assigned and how it may change in the future.

Zenith’s research reports and platform, Mosaic, are built with this in mind. From detailed fund reviews to tools for comparing investments and building portfolios, our investment research is delivered in a way that’s clear, practical and ready to apply.

6. Continuous monitoring & timely insights

The investment landscape changes quickly and so do the strategies within it. A quality research provider doesn’t stop once a fund is rated. Ongoing monitoring is essential to ensure advisers are kept up to date with developments that could impact a fund’s suitability and its’ potential to achieve it performance objectives

Whether it’s a portfolio manager departure, mandate change or performance deterioration, investment research providers must have the systems and discipline to flag these changes promptly and provide relevant updates.

Zenith’s approach includes continuous oversight of rated products, regular manager re-engagement, and interim updates when material developments occur. This helps advisers stay informed and make timely, well-supported decisions.

The role of investment research in strengthening your advice

Ultimately, investment research should make the advice process stronger, supporting advisers in building well-constructed portfolios, making informed recommendations, and having confident conversations with clients.

The hallmarks of a quality research provider are clear: a robust process, objective thinking, broad yet deep coverage, experienced analysts, accessible outputs, and responsive updates. These are the principles that guide Zenith’s approach to research and the value we aim to deliver to the advice community every day.

By Grant Kennaway, group head of research

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Mano Mohankumar

Australian super funds’ home bias could further diminish as industry and retail funds look to invest more overseas, particularly in unlisted assets classes such as infrastructure and private equity, according to research house Chant West.

Mano Mohankumar, senior investment research manager with Chant West, says many super funds already have meaningful allocations to unlisted assets, and increasingly, funds are looking to invest more overseas where the investment opportunity set is broader. However, domestic investments will still remain an important part of super funds’ portfolios.

“We’ve also seen funds reshape exposures within asset classes such as shifting allocations from traditional core infrastructure assets to emerging sectors such as digital infrastructure and energy transition investments, which is a theme that is likely to continue,” Mr Mohankumar said.

“Over the past decade, funds have increased allocations to international shares and unlisted assets such as unlisted infrastructure, private equity, and private debt, with the bias to Australian assets slowly falling over time.

“Unlisted infrastructure and other unlisted assets are key components of most super fund portfolios, providing an important source of value-add and diversification benefits which help provide members with a smoother return journey,” he said.

Zenith head of research Grant Kennaway says the demand for clearer disclosure on managed fund and super fund fees and portfolio holdings has never been greater, which is positive for investors.

“Introducing regulated transparency allows research providers to deliver more valuable and effective insights to investors,” Mr Kennaway said.

“Greater visibility into portfolio composition strengthens confidence in investment decisions and provides a more open and accountable market as Australia’s super system continues to expand in both size and scale.

“With increasing competition among fund managers, we are witnessing downward pressure on fund fees, which is a positive development for investors and super fund members seeking cost-effective investment options.”

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In this role he will be responsible for leading the delivery and expansion of the combined investment and super fund research program to financial advisers and platforms across Australia. He will report to managing director, Jason Huddy, commencing in the role on 11 November.

Mr Kennaway has a wealth of experience across asset management, investment research and investment consulting, both in Australia and globally including Asia and the US.

Most recently, he worked with Morningstar as its global head of manager selection. Previously, he worked with Lonsec for over 10 years in a number of roles including general manager research and head of managed funds research.

Mr Huddy said Mr Kennaway is a high calibre appointment who will work across both the Zenith and Chant West brands in his new role.

“Grant is a highly respected executive with broad experience leading large and diverse teams. He has a passion for research and how this can be delivered to advisers and platforms, for the benefit of investors. He also brings to the team important experience in working through regulatory and market changes, which continue to play a role in shaping the investment and super landscape for advisers and their clients.

“His depth of knowledge of the Australian market is exceptional and he will be a great asset to the business in this pivotal role and a strong complement to the existing team of seasoned analysts within the group,” Mr Huddy said.

Kennaway will lead the combined team of 20 and will be based in the business’ Melbourne office.

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Australian fund investors also suffer from a below average regulation and taxation framework when compared to global peers.

Fees in the managed funds industry continue to fall, yet there is room for improvement, according to Morningstar’s Global Investor Experience Study.

The published first chapter, Fees and Expenses of the biannual GIE report evaluates an investor’s ongoing cost to own managed funds compared to investors across the globe.

The report, now in its seventh edition, assesses the experiences of managed fund investors in 26 markets across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa

Morningstar’s manager research team uses a grading scale of Top, Above Average, Average, Below Average, and Bottom to assign a grade to each market. Morningstar gave Top grades to Australia, the Netherlands, and the U.S., denoting these as the most investor-friendly markets in terms of fees and expenses.

This is the fourth study in a row that these three countries have received the highest grade in this area.

Conversely, Morningstar again assigned Bottom grades to Italy and Taiwan indicating these fund markets have amongst the highest fees and expenses.

Exhibit 1 of the Global Investor Experience report on Fees and Expenses shows the scorecard for the markets covered in the study. The arrows indicate whether a market experienced a change in grade since the last study in 2019.

Australia earnt a Top grade for Fees and Expenses, based on investor-friendly practices such as investors paying for advice outside of commissions, banned front loads and low asset-weighted median expenses, according to said Grant Kennaway, head of manager selection at Morningstar and a co-author of the study.

“Australia’s fee-based financial advice and the dominance of the Independent Financial Adviser has spurred demand for lower cost funds like passives as advisers have increasingly opted against costlier fund vehicles,” Grant says.

“Australian investors benefit from the effect of economies of scale and competition that is prevalent in a fund market underpinned by an ecosystem buoyed by compulsory superannuation savings,” he added.

According to Grant, however, outside low fees, the Australian retail investor experience is poor, when compared with global peers.

Regulatory failures

Grant again highlighted Australia’s current disclosure laws as outdated, and do not serve the interests of investors, a view highlighted in a previous Morningstar report on Australia’s portfolio holding disclosure laws^[1].

“Until recently, Australia was the only major fund market with no implemented portfolio holdings disclosure regime,” he said.

“Put simply, Australian retail investors had no regulated right to know what securities (stocks and bonds) their investment and superannuation funds held in their portfolios.

“Unfortunately, the government has recently introduced regulation that is a watered-down asset-allocation requirement, not true portfolio holdings disclosure that is prevalent globally.”

Grant highlights that the only asset class where portfolio disclosure really occurs is in the listed equity section.

“Listed equities holds many of the most well-regulated (lowest risk from a disclosure sense) assets on Earth and is the least problematic area for these regulations to focus upon,” he said.

“There is no way Australian investors can use the now required data for portfolio comparison, nor is there a way you could use this data to understand the true risks of a portfolio. Important, basic information, like does my managed fund have exposure to Russian bonds, is not required under the government’s current regulations”.

“Australia’s portfolios holdings disclosure regulations are retrograde and do not serve Australian investors’ best interest.”

He added that Australian fund investors also suffer from a below average regulation and taxation framework when compared to global peers.

“While the Australian regulators have a long legacy of running well-functioning and efficient markets, that is not enough to get even an Average mark in an environment where many markets have made great strides in delivering regulation that encourages investors and adds more protections for them.”

Read the full report.

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[1] Australia blows opportunity to improve portfolio holdings for retail investors: Morningstar view

The post Top mark for fees but Australia lags on regulation and disclosure: Report appeared first on AdviserVoice.

With immediate effect, Amanda Gillespie has accepted the role of General Manager, Research. In this role Amanda will lead Lonsec’s extensive research team, which is comprised of more than 30 highly experienced analysts, most of whom have had long tenure at Lonsec. Amanda is well known to Lonsec clients, having been with Lonsec for over 10 years and having been a critical part of the success of the research business over that period.

Amanda takes over this role from Grant Kennaway, who tendered his resignation after 11 years with the organisation. He intends to take an extended break prior to pursuing new challenges. Lukasz de Pourbaix will assume responsibility for Lonsec’s Investment Consulting Team and will continue to work closely with Amanda and the broader research team to deliver tailored consulting services to Lonsec’s clients. Anh Nguyen also joins Lonsec on Monday 1 August as a Quantitative Analyst.

Commenting on these changes, Managing Director of Financial Research Holdings, Jason Clarke, said “Grant’s contribution to Lonsec has been outstanding, helping to build a market leading team of high calibre analysts and a robust research process, all of which have been instrumental in Lonsec’s success in the market. We are confident that both Amanda and Lukasz will play a huge part in ensuring Lonsec continues to deliver market leading research and innovative and responsive services to the financial planning market.”

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