S&P Australian Fund Ratings are no longer valid, and all S&P Australian fund ratings and reports cannot be relied upon, effective immediately.

“We have appreciated our clients’ support throughout the wind down of the Fund Services business and we’d like to thank all of our clients for their business and support over the past seven-plus years,” said S&P Head of Research, Fund Services, Leanne Milton.

This action does not affect other products or services offered by S&P Capital IQ or its sister brands, S&P Dow Jones Indices and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services.

All three brands remain committed to the Australian market. S&P Capital IQ will concentrate local resources on serving Australian institutional clients with a suite of domestic and global multi-asset class data, research, and analytics, delivered through integrated desktop and enterprise solutions.

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The management fee reductions are due to take effect on Aug. 1. Each of the funds to receive fee reductions are rated four stars.
 
The proposed fee reductions range across Vanguard’s equities, listed property, and fixed interest wholesale managed fund suite, but not all of Vanguard’s management fees will be reduced.
 
“While not all of Vanguard’s management fees have been reduced, the fee reductions announced are significant and represent a positive outcome for investors in those funds,” said Leanne Milton, head of research at S&P Fund Services.

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Associate Director Josh Hall and Rating Specialist Matthew Conacher have joined the S&P Research team’s Sydney office, while Rating Analyst Leader Simatupang has joined the team’s Melbourne office. Research Analyst Madeline Yang has joined the Wealth Management Services team and is also based in Melbourne.  

“This intake of fresh talent represents S&P Fund Services’ commitment to excellence in research, and will add to our already highly effective and efficient team,” said Leanne Milton, Head of Research at S&P Fund Services. 

“The new recruits come from a variety of backgrounds within the finance industry and will enhance diversity, and broaden the scope of knowledge the team has,” she said. 

Financial planners and advisers benefit from the independent opinion that S&P’s Fund Research, and Wealth Management Services teams, offer in the Australian marketplace.

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Macquarie Professional Series picked up our award for Product Distributor of the Year and CBRE Clarion Securities, PIMCO Australia Pty Ltd. (Equity Trustees Ltd.) and Schroder Investment Management Australia Ltd. were presented with our new Sustained Excellence awards. The 2011 S&P Fund Awards were announced at a business lunch in Sydney earlier today.

The S&P Fund Awards are now in their eighth year in Australia and recognise excellence within the Australian fund management industry. The methodology is based on a qualitative assessment of specific investment management capabilities within a sector, rather than being based on the past performance of individual funds. 

“The team at S&P has conducted in-depth analysis across a range of high-performing managers to come up with today’s awards recipients. The fund managers recognised this year are those we believe are more likely to outperform their peers and investment objectives through the full investment cycle.” said Head of Research at S&P Fund Services, Leanne Milton.

Winners were announced as follows:

Fund Manager of the Year – Schroder Investment Management Australia Ltd 

Schroder Investment Management has key strengths across its product offerings including a clearly defined investment style, disciplined and repeatable investment processes, and highly experienced skilled and well resourced investment teams. In particular, Schroders’ acute awareness of risk, which is embedded into the investment processes across the asset classes, is a competitive advantage and one of its differentiating features. Further, Schroders is a high quality asset management firm that offers a range of superior products across a number of asset classes which differentiates it from its peers.

Product Distributor of the Year – Macquarie Professional Series 

Macquarie Professional Series aims to develop and distribute a suite of ‘best of breed’ funds, providing them with administrative and distribution expertise in the Australian market. Overall, the quality of the managers chosen by this distributor is a reflection of the discerning approach it has taken in selecting them rather than just distributing a large number of average products. Macquarie has assessed the opportunities and relevance of these products for the Australian marketplace and has provided Australian investors with access to managers and capabilities which may not have otherwise been available to them. 

Australian Fixed Interest – PIMCO Australia Pty Ltd. (Equity Trustees Ltd.)

Global Fixed Interest (including Diversified) – PIMCO Australia Pty Ltd. (Equity Trustees Ltd.)

Property – CBRE Clarion Securities

Alternative Equity Strategies – K2 Asset Management Ltd.

Alternative Diversified Strategies – Winton (Macquarie Professional Series)

Australian Equities – Large-Cap – FIL Investment Management Ltd. (Australia)

Australian Equities – Small-Cap – Aviva Investors Australia Ltd

Global Equities – Developed Markets – Independent Franchise Partners (Macquarie Professional Series)

Global Equities – Emerging Markets – Schroder Investment Management Australia Ltd.

Multi-Sector – Schroder Investment Management Australia Ltd.

Sustained Excellence Awards

• CBRE Clarion Securities – winner of S&P’s Property category in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011
• PIMCO Australia Pty Ltd. (Equity Trustees Ltd.) – winner of S&P’s Fixed Interest category in 2008, and Global Fixed Interest category in 2009, 2010 and 2011
• Schroder Investment Management Australia Ltd. – winner of S&P’s Emerging Markets category in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011

The sustained excellence award was introduced in 2011 and is presented to fund managers that, in S&P’s opinion, have demonstrated sustained excellence. This award is aimed at managers that have consistently won their sector award over a number of years, including the current year.

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