Marco Lo Blanco

Nanuk Asset Management (Nanuk), a specialist global equity manager, has appointed Marco Lo Blanco as Portfolio Manager and Mark Jordan as Senior Business Development Manager to support the firm’s continued growth and the increasing demand from financial advisers, not for profits and family offices for investment strategies aligned with the accelerating transformation of the global economy.

As industries respond to the increasing tension between economic growth and resource constraints, investors are seeking exposure to companies driving this transition. Nanuk’s investment approach focuses on generating strong investment returns from companies benefiting from the global trends towards greater digitalisation, electrification, efficiency, decarbonisation and sustainability, helping advisers position their clients’ portfolios for the structural shifts reshaping global markets.

Marco Lo Blanco brings 12 years of experience in global equities, having worked across Asian, European, and US markets. Previously, he was a portfolio manager and research analyst at London-based boutique asset manager Seilern Investment Management, where he co-managed the Seilern World Growth Fund, which peaked at USD 3 billion in assets under management (AUM). His expertise in global equities will help strengthen Nanuk’s investment capability.

Mark Jordan joins Nanuk with over 25 years of experience in financial services distribution, most recently as Head of Distribution at Prime Value Asset Management. He has held senior roles at Magellan Asset Management, Fidelity International, and Perpetual, where he played a key role in deepening relationships with financial advisers and investment consultants . Mark joins Melbourne based Senior Business Development Manager Matthew Kent and Business Development Manager Rory Irvine, and his appointment reinforces Nanuk’s focus on engaging with the adviser and investment research community.

These appointments further strengthen Nanuk’s experienced investment and distribution team, led by Chief Investment Officer Tom King and Head of Distribution Dan Powell.

Tom King, Chief Investment Officer at Nanuk, commented: “The global economy is undergoing significant and ongoing transformation as industries adapt to resource constraints, sustainability challenges, and technological change. Investors are increasingly recognising that capitalising on these shifts requires a forward-looking approach, and we are committed to helping advisers position their clients in line with these developments.”

He added: “We are seeing strong demand from advisers and family offices who want investment solutions that align with these global shifts—whether it’s artificial intelligence, electrification, or advances in resource efficiency. Our focus remains on delivering good investment outcomes through a pragmatic, research-driven fundamental approach.”

Recognising this demand, Nanuk launched the Nanuk New World Fund’s hedged unit class as an active ETF in October 2024, providing listed access to its currency-hedged strategy.

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Mark Jordan

The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund Class B is now available via the Netwealth and HUB24 platforms.

The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund is offered by Australian-owned diversified boutique, Prime Value Asset Management, and was launched in 2015. The Fund was upgraded to Highly Recommended by Zenith in early 2024.

The Fund has delivered outstanding returns for investors and was recently ranked third in Mercer’s Australian Small Companies (Ex-100) category for five year annualised returns to 30 June 2024.

It has outperformed both the Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index and Small Industrials Accumulation Index for each of the last six years.

Prime Value introduced the Class B units in February 2024 to cater for interest in the Fund among the advisor and intermediary market – the original Class A units invest to an 8 per cent absolute return benchmark.

The Class B units use the Small Industrials Accumulation Index as its benchmark, the most comparable index given the Fund does not invest in mining companies.

Prime Value Asset Management Head of Distribution, Mark Jordan, said the Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund had differentiated itself as a having the personnel and the process to deliver across varied market conditions. “The small cap team led by Richard Ivers and Mike Younger is outstanding and has a strong track record of managing volatility and delivering performance over many different markets.

“Small cap stocks add an important element to investor portfolios providing exposure to attractive growth opportunities and diversification away from the typical holdings of a large cap portfolio.

“Richard and Mike undertake an intensive company visitation program and apply a thoughtful portfolio construction process to deliver a portfolio of high quality companies.

“We are delighted the Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund Class B is now available on the Netwealth and HUB24 platforms, providing more access to the fund for advisors.”

The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund (Class A) is currently rated Highly Recommended by Zenith and Recommended by Lonsec, and already available on Netwealth, HUB24, uXchange, Mason Stevens, BT Panorama, Praemium, and AMP North.

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Mark Jordan

Boutique multi-award-winning investment house, Prime Value Asset Management, has appointed Mark Jordan as its new Head of Distribution. Mark is based in Sydney and will focus on continuing to build strong relationships with the intermediary market, covering the Prime Value suite of proven investment solutions across various asset classes.

Mark’s primary focus will be the firm’s Australian equity small cap capability. The Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund was recently upgraded to Highly Recommended by Zenith and has outperformed both the Small Industrials and Small Ordinaries Index for each of the last six years.

With a distinguished 24-year career in funds management, Mark brings a proven track record of success to Prime Value. Mark joins from Magellan Asset Management where he was most recently Head of Retail with oversight of the retail distribution team and implementation of strategy. Over the past nine years he made a significant contribution to Magellan’s success in the retail market. Mark has also held senior roles at both Fidelity International and Perpetual, where he was instrumental in shaping the growth and success of their distribution teams to deliver sales excellence and achieve exceptional results.

On joining Prime Value, Mark said that Prime Value brings a rare combination of quality and stewardship across diversified investments. “Prime Value is building momentum from its ability to create best-of-breed funds in asset classes and strategies where it can make a difference for investors.

“Prime Value has an impressive equities team, with its small cap Prime Value Emerging Opportunities Fund showing consistent outperformance across varied market conditions. It was great to see the fund recently upgraded to Highly Recommended by Zenith.

“The combination of targeting quality investments with stewardship and care is what a successful Australian-owned boutique is all about”, Mr Jordan said.

Prime Value Asset Management CEO and co-founder, Yak Yong Quek, welcomes Mark and is excited about Mark’s track record of connection and success in offering Prime Value’s diversified investment solutions to the intermediary market and investors. “Mr Jordan, with his deep understanding of investment products and breadth of relationships in the intermediary space, will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.

“He will work closely with our Director of Distribution, Julia Desimone, in growing our presence among the private wealth groups, financial planners and dealer groups.”

Prime Value funds are available via platforms including Netwealth, uXchange, Mason Stevens, Hub24 and BT Panorama, Praemium and AMP North.

Prime Value Asset Management is part of an investment group including Shakespeare Property Group, which now manages over $3 billion in equities, income securities, direct property and alternative assets in Australia.

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Fidelity appointed Nick McDowell as Head of Wholesale Sales.

In this role, Nick will be responsible for driving the development and diversity of Fidelity’s wholesale funds business through Intermediaries including banks, insurance companies and financial advisers. He will also provide leadership and strategic direction to Fidelity’s wholesale sales team and have account responsibilities for some of the fund manager’s largest clients. 

Nick was previously National Account Director for Fidelity and has over 13 years experience in the industry, having held senior roles at BT Investment Management, BT Financial Group and Westpac.

He reports to Gerard Doherty, Managing Director of Fidelity in Australia, who said: ”Our wholesale fund business has performed very well through this challenging period with positive flows and improved shelf space.

“There are signs that the industry is emerging from a difficult time and re-focusing on growth and we want to make sure we are well positioned to make the most of the emerging new growth.”

Fidelity has increased its funds under management over the past year by more than 20% to over $10 billion in its Australian, global and Asian equity capabilities.

Mark Jordan has been appointed National Account Manager.

He was previously Portfolio Specialist Equities for Perpetual Investment Management and has over 13 years experience in the industry having held roles at IWL and AXA Financial Planning.

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