Mark Sowerby

Ten years after starting Blue Sky Alternative Investments, founder Mark Sowerby will hand over the reins to the company’s current chief operating officer, Robert Shand, on 30 September 2016.

Mr Shand has been with Blue Sky since 2010, was promoted to COO in 2013, and is well known to Blue Sky’s investor and associate network. He will replace Mr Sowerby as managing director, backed by the existing team.

Mr Sowerby, who will remain an active advisor to the business and a significant shareholder, is stepping down to spend time with his family and increase his involvement in other projects with a positive social impact.

Mr Sowerby founded Blue Sky a decade ago as a private equity business providing expansion capital to growing small businesses.

The company has grown to become Australia’s only listed fund manager solely focussed on diversified alternative assets, including private equity and venture capital, real assets (primarily water and agriculture), private real estate and hedge funds.

Blue Sky listed on the ASX in 2012 and has grown its market capitalisation to nearly $600 million. Today Blue Sky has more than $2 billion in assets under management and has generated an internal rate of return (IRR) across its funds of 16.7 per cent per annum net of fees to the end of June 2016.

Blue Sky chair John Kain said Mr Sowerby had achieved a remarkable feat building Blue Sky from the ground up.

“Mark’s entrepreneurial vision and drive have shaped the business. To his great credit, Mark has built an extraordinary team with multiple layers of talent and experience, a team which can renew itself and continue to repay our investors’ trust through the decades ahead,” Mr Kain said.

“Rob’s three years as COO give him an unparalleled understanding of what makes our business tick. His leadership, vision and clarity of decision-making qualify him to drive Blue Sky and build on the foundations of our first 10 years.”

Mr Sowerby said Blue Sky had experienced incredible growth since inception.

“We have created a business which is more than just sustainable – it is fast growing, scalable and defensive – a unique combination reflected in our 10 year track record and position as one of Australia’s best performing listed companies over the past four and a half years,” Mr Sowerby said.

“My decision reflects the ongoing growth and performance we see in the business and team, the foundations of a strong balance sheet and investments, and the incredible structural tailwinds in the sector. The last few years we have grown at 50 per cent per annum, and we see no reason for that to slow down.

“The Blue Sky team has now unquestionably earned the right to take over the business. They are hard working, intelligent, empathetic and ethical. They understand why we are different, and the rules that made us who we are. They have lived it, experienced it, and now they own it.”

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Mark Sowerby

Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited (ASX: BLA) has announced its results for the year ending 30 June 2016, reporting an underlying Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of $16.3 million (up 57 per cent from $10.4 million in FY15) and a 44 per cent increase in revenue to $63.0 million (up from $43.6 million).

The company will pay a fully franked dividend of 16 cents per share to shareholders (record date: 2 September 2016; payment date: 16 September 2016).

Fee earning Assets Under Management (AUM) at 30 June 2016 grew to $2.1 billion, up from $1.35 billion at 30 June 2015. As expected, a number of investments in private equity and private real estate were successfully exited throughout the year.

Since inception in July 2006, Blue Sky has generated an internal rate of return (IRR) across its funds of 16.7 per cent per annum net of fees to the end of June 2016.

Managing director Mark Sowerby said the combination of a ten-year investment track record across the four major alternative asset classes, increased investor engagement across retail, wholesale and institutional clients, and continued strong deal flow would lead to further growth in fee earning AUM in FY17 and beyond.

“Reaching $2 billion in AUM this year was an important milestone for us as a business.The fact that most of this is invested in illiquid funds differentiates us from other local fund managers and provides an incredibly solid foundation for our future growth,” Mr Sowerby said.

“The Australian funds management industry has $2.6 trillion in funds under management today and this is anticipated to grow to $4.1 trillion over the next five years. By 2021, alternative assets are expected to be the largest investment class in Australia.”

Blue Sky is Australia’s only listed fund manager focused on a range of diversified alternative investments, including private equity and venture capital, real assets (primarily water and agriculture), private real estate and hedge funds.

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Mark Sowerby

Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited has announced its results for the half year ending 31 December 2015, reporting an underlying Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of $4.4 million (up 69 per cent from $2.6 million for the first half of FY15) and a 44 per cent increase in revenue to $23.8 million (up from $16.5 million).

The directors anticipate the company’s underlying NPAT for the year ending 30 June 2016 will be between $14.0 and $16.0 million.

Fee earning Assets Under Management (AUM) to the end of December 2015 grew to $1.70 billion, up from $1.35 billion at June 2015.

The directors brought forward AUM guidance to $2.0 billion by the end of June 2016. Blue Sky also updated the performance of the investment funds it manages to the end of December 2015, with an increase from 15.4 to 16.9 per cent per annum compounding (net of fees) since inception in July 2006.

Managing Director Mark Sowerby said the growth reflected almost 10 years in the alternative assets space, during which time alternatives had started to move into the mainstream.

“Industry forecasts suggest alternative assets will be the largest investment class in Australia by 2021,” Mr Sowerby said.

“Our strong and consistent decade-long track record of growth and investment performance across all our funds places us in a very competitive position.

“Blue Sky’s funds give investors access to investment opportunities in private markets. This is where the new ideas and growth companies of the future will be found.

“Our focus in recent years on the essentials – food, water, education, housing, student accommodation, agriculture and infrastructure – has been the key to this performance.”

Blue Sky is Australia’s only listed fund manager focused on a range of diversified alternative investments, including private equity and venture capital, real assets (primarily water and agriculture), private real estate (primarily residential and student accommodation) and hedge funds.

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Mark Sowerby

Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited (ASX: BLA) yesterday announced its results for the full year ending 30 June 2015, reporting an underlying Net Profit After Tax of $10.4 million (up 68 per cent from $6.2 million in 2014) and an 82 per cent increase in revenue to $43.6 million.

The company will pay a fully franked dividend of 11 cents per share to shareholders (record date: 11 September 2015; payment date: 2 October 2015).

In the last 12 months, Blue Sky has reached $1.35 billion in fee-earning assets under management (AUM) up from $700 million last financial year and the company is on track to achieve $2 billion in AUM by the end of calendar year 2016, a year earlier than previously targeted.

Since inception in July 2006, Blue Sky has generated an internal rate of return (IRR) across its funds of 15.4 per cent per annum net of fees to the end of June 2015.

Founder and managing director Mark Sowerby said the results and fund performance reflected increased demand from private investors, strong deal flow activity and further engagement with family offices and institutional investors.

“We have a nearly decade-long track record of delivering strong investor returns in our underlying funds, and as allocations to alternatives continue to increase we see further growth in demand,” Mr Sowerby said.

“Our funds give investors access to opportunities in private markets. This is where the new ideas and growth companies of the future will be found.

“We have worked hard to build a strong, trusted brand in a country where alternative investments have historically been misunderstood, and it is paying off.

“Every single one of our divisions has attracted institutional capital now, which is a great demonstration of trust, and a natural evolution as our business matures.”

Blue Sky is Australia’s only listed fund manager focussed on a range of diversified alternative investments, including private equity and venture capital, real assets, private real estate and hedge funds.

“Alternative assets are the fastest growing asset class in Australia. Investors are looking beyond traditional investment strategies,” Mr Sowerby said.

Last year, the company launched the Blue Sky Alternatives Access Fund (ASX: BAF) a listed investment company deployed across Blue Sky funds, providing investors with a listed, diversified exposure to the company’s investment opportunities.

“Blue Sky is now an alternative solutions provider to all investor segments,” Mr Sowerby concluded.

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Mark Sowerby

Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited (ASX:BLA) has released its latest fund investment performance, showing an internal rate of return across its funds of 15.3 per cent per annum net of fees[1] since inception in July 2006.

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