Based in Sydney, Mr Boys will report to Helen de Mestre, Managing Director and Country Head for Principal Global Investors (Australia) Limited, and will work alongside Michael Gaffney, who has been Principal’s Director of Institutional Sales since 2016. Mr Boys will share Mr Gaffney’s mandate to develop new business opportunities and to work with institutional investors and their consultants to deliver world-class investment solutions, as well as increasing Principal Global Investors’ market share in Australia and New Zealand across their range capabilities.

“I’m delighted that Warwick, an experienced, high-performing institutional sales director, has joined the team,” said Ms. de Mestre. “He brings to the role a strong track record of building long-term relationships with institutional investors and their advisers, and an exceptional reputation in the market. The Australian and New Zealand institutional market is a key area of focus for Principal, and I have confidence in his ability to help grow the business,” she added.

Mr Boys has worked in financial services for over 25 years, most recently heading up institutional sales for Perpetual Investments and Fidelity International. At Fidelity, he represented Fidelity’s offerings across all asset classes, and was responsible for helping define the strategic direction of the global institutional business. He is well-known and respected in the market, and was instrumental in growing Fidelity’s institutional business.

“Principal has a wide range of high-quality, high-performing investment capabilities – in particular, real estate (across the four quadrants of private/public debt and equity), global fixed income, alternatives and global equities,” said Mr Boys.  “I am really excited about the opportunity of working with a world-class, global investment firm to support our institutional investors and identify solutions to help them achieve their ultimate objectives.”

In addition to Mr Boys’ appointment, Principal Global Investors in Australia has further strengthened its institutional distribution capability by appointing Ryan Kilroy to the role of Sales Support Manager in January of this year. Mr Kilroy joins from Macquarie Group, where he worked closely with institutional and business banking clients, most recently as an  Associate Manager in the Wrap Adviser Service team.

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Grant Forster

Principal Global Investors Australia (Principal) has announced their Global Real Estate Securities strategy has recently been awarded a number of mandates including BT New Zealand and the Australian Construction Industry Redundancy Trust (ACIRT).

In further endorsement of Principal’s strength as a global real estate manager, the Principal Global REIT Fund (the fund) has also received a Zenith ‘Highly Recommended’ rating.

Grant Forster, CEO for Principal in Australia, said: “We are delighted to announce that BT New Zealand and ACIRT are joining us as clients. Their decisions show welcome recognition of the expertise of Principal Global Investors in managing real estate securities.”

Michael Gaffney, Director Institutional Sales, said: “The Principal Global Real Estate strategy continues to gain favour with our clients. Our competitive advantage is gained through the strength of our portfolio construction, coupled with the depth and quality of the Principal Global Investors real estate team.”

BT Funds Management (NZ) Limited is the investment arm of Westpac in New Zealand. The firm manages over US$10bn in assets under management, predominantly comprising multi-asset portfolios under a best in class outsourced methodology.

Commenting on BT’s decision to award the mandate to Principal, BT New Zealand Head of Investment Solutions Matthew Goldsack said: “Following a global search, we chose to partner with Principal for its core investment approach and longterm track record of adding value. The quality of its people and portfolio construction principals sets it apart from other managers. The Principal Global REIT Fund is an important component of BTNZ’s diversified fund strategy, and the appointment of Principal has allowed us to broaden our approach to the management of listed real estate assets, which adds real value to our products, for our customers, over time.”

In addition to the new mandates, Principal also announced that the Global REIT Fund had been awarded Zenith’s highest rating of ‘Highly Recommended’. The Zenith report notes that the the fund has performed well over time, achieving an outperformance ratio of greater than 50%, in all market conditions, over a range of time periods. The report also highlights that the fund has outperformed the Zenith assigned benchmark and median manager over all periods, placing it in the first and second quartile of assessed managers over all time periods.

Mr Forster said, “The fund was created for investors looking for reliable income and capital growth potential. Principal’s globally integrated approach has contributed to the fund’s strong peer relative performance in recent years, supporting Zenith’s increased conviction, leading to the award of the highest ranking. This is a verification of the quality of our real global estate investment team as well as the investment philosophy of the fund.”

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Mr Gaffney joins the Institutional Advisory Services team and will be based in Sydney. In his role, Mr Gaffney will be responsible for generating institutional sales and maintaining consultant relationships in Australia, consolidating the success achieved by the Principal in the institutional and sub-advisory channels.

Grant Forster, Chief Executive of Principal Global Investors Australia, says Mr Gaffney’s appointment will bring further depth of talent and industry knowledge to the Australian team.

“Michael’s scope of expertise will be invaluable to our team and our clients. I am confident that his comprehensive industry knowledge will assist in the growth and development of our business, given his experience working in different markets and across diverse asset classes. It’s a breadth and range of capability that matches that of Principal Global Investors.”

Mr Gaffney has twenty years’ experience managing institutional client and intermediary relationships in the funds management industry. He joins from nabInvest, the boutique asset management division of National Australia Bank, where he served as an Investment Specialist with the Institutional Distribution team. Prior to this, he held distribution roles with Challenger in Australia and Bank of Ireland Asset Management in Dublin. Mr Gaffney holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Manhattan College, New York, and a Certificate in Investment Management from the Society of Investment Analysts in Ireland (SIAI).

Commenting on his appointment, Mr Gaffney said: “Principal Global Investors is a premium manager with an excellent global reputation and I am very pleased to be making this move. I look forward to working with Grant and the team to deliver Australia’s institutional investors global investment solutions derived from the Principal’s multi-boutique model.”

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