Simon Glazier

Fidelity International has appointed Simon Glazier as managing director, Australia, with effect from 1 September 2024. In his new role, Simon will be responsible for delivering continued growth for Fidelity’s business in Australia, and further strengthening the firm’s offering for Australian investors.

Simon is an accomplished leader with more than 20 years of experience in the Australian market working in the asset management and financial services sector. He joined Fidelity in 2020 to lead the Wholesale segment in Australia and has led the development of a number of new products and solutions in response to evolving investor needs, along with the expansion of support for Fidelity’s advice and wealth management clients. Simon was previously at Ellerston Capital for five years where his last position was head of intermediary sales & marketing. He also brings to his new role a broad range of experience from senior positions at Colonial First State, Perpetual Investments and ING Australia.

Simon will report to Rajeev Mittal, managing director, Asia Pacific (Ex-Japan), Fidelity International.

Commenting on the appointment, Rajeev said: “I am delighted to appoint Simon to lead our Australian business into the next phase of its growth. Fidelity International has been supporting clients and investors in Australia for more than 25 years and it remains an important market for us. Under Simon’s leadership, we will continue to bring the best of Fidelity’s global research, capabilities and solutions to our clients in Australia.”

Simon replaces Lawrence Hanson who will leave Fidelity in September 2024 for an external opportunity. 

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Lawrence Hanson

With cash-related investment products recently having offered their highest interest rates in more than a decade, Australian investors have been reaping the risk-free benefits, with 42 per cent of their current asset allocation in cash savings and term deposits. And while cash rates may remain high in the short term, it appears investors are starting to look ahead to the risk-asset opportunities expected over the next 6-12 months. This is according to Fidelity International’s Asia Pacific Investor Study, which aims to provide a picture of today’s investor across Australia, Japan, Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Following a tumultuous few years of market volatility and increased inflation, investors across the region have mixed feelings about their financial situations. Investors in most markets describe their financial situation as ‘comfortable’, with the exceptions of Japan and Taiwan where respondents are more likely to feel they are ‘coping’. In Australia, while 68 per cent of investors indicated they feel ‘comfortable’ about their financial situation, cost of living pressures appear to have driven the number down by 7 points in the past year, most pronounced amongst those aged 45-69 where 43 per cent are either ‘coping’ or ‘struggling’ (versus 29 per cent in 2023).

In terms of asset allocation, Australian investors generally have a higher risk appetite compared to the other markets surveyed within Asia Pacific, leading the pack when it comes to allocating to foreign currency (highest across all markets), stocks (second highest behind Japan), commodities (highest), bonds (highest), and digital assets (highest). The top three asset classes for Australian investors are stocks (owned by 63 per cent of investors surveyed), term deposits (38 per cent), and insurance related products (38 per cent).

When asked for their top investment priority, more than half (57 per cent) of Australian investors are focused on long term capital accumulation and almost a quarter (23 per cent) invest to generate a regular income. In terms of investment time horizon, 29 per cent are investing with a period of more than 5 years in mind, 16 per cent for 3-5 years, and just 6 per cent are investing for less than 6 months. Regardless of their investment objectives or timeframe, investors expect an annual return of 8.8 per cent per annum, the second highest percentage across Asia Pacific, only trailing expectations from investors in Taiwan (9.5 per cent).

Lawrence Hanson, managing director, Australia, at Fidelity International comments: “Clearly cost of living pressures will remain for Australian investors through the rest of 2024. However, it is encouraging to see that investors are also thinking about the medium to long-term when they invest. Having a longer investment time frame allows investors to look at the bigger picture and not be concerned by periods of volatility through their investment journey.”

Moving beyond cash… in time


While cash-related products may retain their appeal in the short term as uncertainty remains on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s next interest rate move, intentions within the next 6-12 months reveal a more risk-on positioning. Looking 6-12 months ahead, 50 per cent of Australian investors surveyed plan to decrease their cash holdings to deploy capital into other investment products. 59 per cent intend to increase their investment in equities which have historically benefited from interest rate cutting cycles, just slightly less than investors in Taiwan (61 per cent) and in Singapore (60 per cent). Additionally, 73 per cent of Australian investors are looking to invest in income producing assets, with 24 per cent specifically looking to boost their allocation to bonds.

However, in spite of this relatively confident medium-term stance, 55 per cent of Australian investors indicated they will still invest with caution in the coming year due to uncertainties in the external environment.

Mr Hanson says: “It is positive to see that the majority of investors are actively considering investment opportunities outside of cash products in the next 6-12 months, such as equities and bonds, in order to capture the next market cycle. While cash is great for maintaining liquidity and flexibility, having too much on the sidelines in a global rate cutting environment can potentially hurt overall financial returns. With most investors primarily investing for long term capital accumulation and expecting an annual rate of return almost 9 per cent, looking at options beyond cash will be critical.”

Building a diversified portfolio to prepare for what’s next 

Driven by strong recent market performance, it is not surprising that the US is the most popular international market for Australian investor portfolios in the next 12 months (35 per cent), followed by Global (33 per cent) and Europe (23 per cent). The study also suggests that investors here are building diversified portfolios through an average of three types of financial products. Allocating into different products and markets can contribute to improve performance and reduce risk. 

When asked about actively managed Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), 56 per cent of Australian investors indicated a plan to increase their allocation to actively managed ETFs in the next 12 months. This is due to the belief that actively managed ETFs allow greater flexibility to adapt to fast-changing market conditions, as compared to passive ETFs (65 per cent), and can potentially deliver better performance (60 per cent).

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Lawrence Hanson

Fidelity International will be launching four active exchange traded funds (ETFs) for Australian investors. Its Fidelity Australian High Conviction Fund, Fidelity Asia Fund, Fidelity India Fund and Fidelity Global Future Leaders Fund will be made available as actively managed ETFs via the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) under ticker codes: ‘FHCO, ‘FASI, ‘FIIN and ‘FCAP. The Fidelity Asia Fund, Fidelity India Fund and Fidelity Global Future Leaders Fund will launch on 31 May 2024 and the Fidelity Australian High Conviction Fund, previously known as the Fidelity Australian Opportunities Fund (renamed on 20 May 2024), will launch on 3 June 2024.

Fidelity’s managing director, Lawrence Hanson commented: “Making these four strategies available as ETFs allows investors easy access to some of our most popular funds in Australia, with solid long-term track records.  Whether they are seeking exposure to offshore market opportunities like Asia, India or global small to mid-caps, or to a high quality concentrated Australian strategy, investors can now tap into our 400+ investment professionals in one simple trade.

“Investors enjoy the ease of investing and transacting through ETFs. We have seen growing demand for accessible and flexible investment solutions among Australian investors, and the ETF structure enables us to offer our clients an alternative option on how they invest in our products.

“That is why we are launching more of our top strategies through this vehicle,” said Mr Hanson.

The Fidelity Australian High Conviction Fund was established on 31 July 2012 and is managed by Australian-based Casey McLean. The Fund is a concentrated portfolio of 20-40 Australian high-quality stocks, with risk management at its core.  The Fund leverages Fidelity’s 20 years’ investment experience in Australia and insights from our global network.

The Fidelity Asia Fund was established on 29 September 2005 and is managed by Singapore-based portfolio manager, Anthony Srom. The Fund is a concentrated portfolio of 20 to 35 of our best investment opportunities across the Asia Pacific (ex-Japan) region, and benefits from insights from our large on-the-ground team and 50 years’ investing in the region.

The Fidelity India Fund was established on 29 September 2005 and is managed by Singapore-based portfolio manager, Amit Goel. The Fund gives investors access to the growth story of India, by investing in a diversified portfolio of 40 to 60 stocks. Using research from our large-on-the-ground team of analysts, we’ve been focused on finding quality businesses with strong management for more than 18 years.

The Fidelity Global Future Leaders Fund was established on 28 September 2020 and is managed by Australian-based portfolio managers, James Abela and Maroun Younes. The Fund invests in quality high-potential companies in global small and mid-caps.  The fund is co-managed, using a unique investment process designed to deliver smoother returns through market cycles, and benefits from the insights from our 400+ investment professionals around the world.

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Lawrence Hanson

Fidelity International has launched the Fidelity Global Bond Fund in Australia, jointly managed by Rick Patel, Ario Emami Nejad and Daniel Ushakov.

The Fund invests mainly in investment grade global sovereign bonds and global corporate bonds, but also provides some exposure to global high yield bonds and emerging market bonds. The Fund has an overall average AA-investment grade credit rating*.

Commenting on the launch, Managing Director, Lawrence Hanson, highlighted growing client interest in, and demand for, investments in quality government and investment-grade corporate bonds.

“Clients are increasingly seeking alternative investment options with lower risk exposures to complement their current investment strategies. “

“The launch of the Fidelity Global Bond Fund further expands our service offering in Australia, providing investors with investment choice and diversification, and access to our global investment capabilities.”

Global Cross Asset Specialist Lukasz de Pourbaix believes the fund offers a number of benefits for investors in the current environment.

“We’re arguably edging closer to the end of the interest rate tightening cycle. Should central banks begin easing interest rates once inflation is deemed to be under control, this would be positive for bond strategies, particularly those that are exposed to duration risk such as government bonds or strategies benchmarked against the Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index.

Besides regular income distributions, the Fund also offers the potential for higher returns than traditional cash investments over the medium to long term.

“The Fidelity Global Bond Fund is an actively managed portfolio of global bonds. To generate attractive returns, we combine diversified investment positions advised by our in-house fundamental credit research, quantitative modelling and specialist traders.”

“The fund provides a broad and diversified exposure to global bond markets, and we have the ability to allocate exposure to different geographies, currencies, sectors, and maturities to meet the Funds’ return and risk objectives. “

The fund has a suggested minimum investment period of five years and is suitable for investors with a medium tolerance for risk.

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*As rated by internationally recognised rating agencies

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Lawrence Hanson

Fidelity International has launched the Fidelity Global Long Short Fund in Australia, managed by London based Portfolio Manager Dmitry Solomakhin.

The actively managed global equities fund adopts a long short strategy and is managed on an unconstrained and benchmark unaware basis. It will typically hold 45 – 55 long and 25 – 35 short positions. The fund aims to achieve a return in excess of the MSCI All Country World Index NR (ACWI), after fees, over a minimum suggested time frame of seven years

Fidelity Managing Director, Lawrence Hanson, says the launch of the fund in Australia comes as a response to growing client interest in, and demand for, an alternative to traditional global equities strategies.

“We have seen increased interest from clients who are looking to generate higher levels of returns, and who are comfortable taking on the risks and elevated volatility that comes with a strategy like the Fidelity Global Long Short Fund.

“We already offer a range of products and investment choices for Australian investors, and this fund expands the Fidelity offering in Australia, providing investors with further access to our global investment capability.

Portfolio manager, Dmitry Solomakhin, says the investment philosophy of the fund is grounded in the belief that markets are inefficient which creates opportunities for active management.

“This fund will apply a contrarian value approach to investing and will seek out opportunities that differ from the prevailing market sentiment.”

“Investor sentiment can be as important as business fundamentals, and when implemented effectively, a contrarian investment approach can provide a superior risk-adjusted return.”

“This approach requires rigorous research and strong conviction in the face of opposing views. It’s driven by fundamental research that invests in out-of-favour securities which are significantly mispriced due to structural and/or cyclical concerns. Opportunity also lies in using short exposure to benefit from stock price falls.”

“In the current climate of market stress, with investors contending with inflation, tightening monetary policy and growth headwinds, there is an abundance of fear. This environment creates a rich pool of contrarian investment opportunities.”

Mr Solomakhin says the fund offers a number of benefits for investors:

“It provides the potential for long-term capital growth and good performance through active management from both the long and short side.

“The fund provides diversification, compared to many more mainstream investment funds and index approaches.

“By investing in the fund, investors can access the investment knowledge and expertise of Fidelity’s global network of investment professionals.”

Mr Solomakhin adds that the fund is suitable for use as a satellite allocation for those investors seeking capital growth with a high risk tolerance.

“This fund is best suited to long term investors seeking capital growth and who have a very high risk and return profile for that portion of their investment portfolio,” says Mr Solomakhin.

Zenith has initiated research coverage of the Fund with a Recommended rating. Zenith has a high regard for Solomakhin and his differentiated investment process. In addition, we view Solomakhin’s sole focus and Fidelity’s breadth of resources favourably. Although the Fund was recently incepted, Zenith highlights Solomakhin’s track record generating impressive long-term excess returns utilising the same strategy*.

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Lukasz de Pourbaix

Fidelity International has appointed Lukasz de Pourbaix as global cross asset specialist, effective 19 June 2023. He will be based in Sydney and will report to Lawrence Hanson, managing director, Fidelity Australia.

In the role, Mr de Pourbaix will work closely with clients to communicate Fidelity’s broad investment strategy, market views and performance. He will also help identify new investment capabilities and products to introduce into the Australian market.

Mr de Pourbaix has over 20 years’ experience in the wealth management industry, including with ING Australia and BT Investment Management. He joins Fidelity from Lonsec Investment Solutions where he was executive director and chief investment officer, responsible for investment strategy, portfolio construction, product development and team leadership.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Hanson said that Mr de Pourbaix had a proven track record in driving business growth and achieving investment outcomes for clients.

“Lukasz has the ideal experience and knowledge to support our business in the Australian market and understands the needs of our clients as they face challenging market and economic conditions. His strong knowledge of portfolio construction, investment analysis and asset allocation will be particularly valuable”.

Mr de Pourbaix is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce and a Diploma of Financial Planning.

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Lawrence Hanson

Fidelity International has appointed Lawrence Hanson as managing director, Australia, effective 1 October 2022. He will be based in Sydney and will continue to report to Rajeev Mittal, Managing Director of Asia Pacific ex Japan.

Lawrence’s appointment follows the decision by Alva Devoy to return to Europe after 13 years in Australia, including eight years at Fidelity.

In his new role, Lawrence will be responsible for delivering continued growth for Fidelity’s business in Australia and further strengthens Fidelity’s commitment to Australian investors. He will also retain his responsibility as the regional lead for Fidelity’s Asia Pacific ex Japan institutional business.

Lawrence has been with Fidelity for 15 years in both the UK and Asia, and most recently held the position of head of Southeast Asia and the Middle East and Africa, and head of, Singapore. Before joining Fidelity, he worked at UBS Asset Management in a range of roles.

Commenting on the appointment, Rajeev Mittal said: “Australia is an important market for Fidelity and we remain focused on enhancing our existing capabilities and bringing new and innovative solutions to our clients and investors to support their evolving needs. With his 20 years’ financial services experience serving clients across Asia Pacific and around the world, Lawrence is ideally placed to lead our Australian business into the next phase of its growth.”

Lawrence studied Chemistry at the University of Southampton and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

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