Paul Cuddy

Lazard Asset Management (LAM) has announced the Australian launch of the Lazard Emerging Markets Equity Advantage Fund (“Fund”)^[1], allowing retail investor access for the first time to this long running quantitative solution in emerging market equities.

The Fund will be managed by Lazard’s highly experienced Equity Advantage team, which has been with LAM since 2007 and currently oversees US$35 billion for clients worldwide^[2]. The team combines proprietary quantitative insights with perspectives from Lazard’s global network of fundamental investors.

The investment strategy behind this Fund has been managed by Lazard since 2011, and it has a track record that is distinguished by its consistency of returns and history of generating alpha^[3].

“Our Equity Advantage team continues to attract interest from investors around the world, including in Australia. The team has a track record of delivering consistent outperformance, particularly in inefficient markets like global small caps and emerging markets,” said Paul Cuddy, CEO, LAM Asia Pacific. “By balancing exposures to key investment styles and controlling benchmark-related risks, the strategy has a history of performing in a wide range of market conditions.”

“We believe this Fund that uses a quantitatively based investment process will be a complement to the Lazard Emerging Markets Fund, which employs an actively managed fundamental approach. The Lazard Emerging Markets Fund has been available in Australia since 1997 and has a strong track record, including being recognised as an award-winning fund⁴.”

LAM’s Equity Advantage Team evaluates each company’s growth potential, valuation, market sentiment and financial quality relative to each company’s global peers. The number of securities held in the Fund will generally range from 175 to 300. Portfolio risks are managed by maintaining exposures that are similar to the benchmark including region, industry, country and capitalisation.

The Equity Advantage team also manages the Lazard Global Small Cap Equity Advantage Fund and the Lazard Global Equity Advantage Fundavailable for Australian wholesale and retail investors^[1].

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Paul Cuddy

Lazard Asset Management (LAM) has announced the launch of the Lazard Global Equity Advantage Fund in Australia, expanding access to one of its flagship global equity capabilities.

Designed to perform across market cycles, the fund applies a disciplined, bottom-up stock selection process that seeks to minimise unintended macroeconomic exposures. LAM’s active, quantitatively driven investment framework assesses companies on growth potential, valuation, market sentiment and financial quality, typically holding between 200-350 securities.

The fund will be managed by Lazard’s 20-member Equity Advantage team, which has been with the firm since 2007 and currently oversees US$31 billion in various quantitative strategies for clients worldwide*. The team combines proprietary quantitative insights with perspectives from Lazard’s global network of fundamental investors.

“Our Equity Advantage team has a proven track record of delivering consistent outperformance and a distinctive return profile when compared to many other quantitative strategies,” said Paul Cuddy, CEO, LAM Asia Pacific. “By balancing exposures to key investment styles and controlling benchmark-related risks, the strategy is designed to perform in a wide range of market conditions.”

Originally launched for institutional investors in 2008, the Lazard Global Equity Advantage Strategy is now available to a broader investor base through an Australian Unit Trust structure.

This latest launch further enhances LAM’s quantitative global equity offerings available to Australian investors, which also includes the Lazard Global Small Cap Equity Advantage Fund.

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*As at 12 November 2025

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Paul Cuddy

Lazard Asset Management has announced the launch of its first exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Australia, providing investors and advisers access to an actively managed ETF portfolio of listed infrastructure companies.

The Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Active ETF (ticker: GIFL) is listed on Cboe Global Markets. GIFL is a unit class of the Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Fund which launched in 2005 and has A$2.0 billion of funds under management*. The actively managed ETF is made up of 25 to 50 companies from a select subset of the global infrastructure market that Lazard believes provide higher revenue predictability, profitability, and lower volatility.​

“By investing in the equities of listed infrastructure operators, such as electricity networks, toll roads, and other essential assets and related services, investors can gain exposure to predictable long-term earnings streams,” said Warryn Robertson, Portfolio Manager/Analyst on Lazard’s Global Listed Infrastructure Team. “In our view, not all infrastructure is created equal. Our unique approach focusses on a “preferred” subset providing an asset class that can deliver clear benefits: diversification, lower volatility and inflation protection.”

“This is an award-winning investment capability that has long delivered outstanding risk adjusted returns for our clients across the globe,” said Paul Cuddy, Chief Executive Officer (APAC) at Lazard Asset Management. “We are pleased to now offer this Fund in an ETF structure, so Australian investors can enjoy the simplicity of investing through an exchange.”

The Lazard Global Listed Infrastructure Active ETF (GIFL) has been successfully implemented by the same team that launched Lazard’s first global infrastructure fund almost two decades ago. As pioneers in global listed infrastructure investing, the team was one of the first to manage a dedicated global listed infrastructure fund anywhere in the world, and today is based in Sydney, New York, and London.

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“With over 25 years’ investment industry and sales experience, Paul brings outstanding investment, relationship and product development credentials to the firm,” said Robert Prugue, Chief Executive Officer of Lazard Asset Management Pacific Co. “His expertise in the Australian investment industry will enhance our ability to continue to deliver comprehensive investment solutions to our clients.”

Prior to joining Lazard Asset Management in Australia, Mr. Cuddy’s most recent role was as Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer of Bennelong Australian Equity Partners, where he developed and built portfolio strategies for a broad range of institutional, retail and wholesale clients, growing the assets under management to over AUS$5bn. Previously, he was Director and Co-head of Australian Equities at ING Investment Management. Mr. Cuddy has also held portfolio management and analyst positions at NRMA Asset Management and Westpac Investment Management.

An indirect subsidiary of Lazard Ltd (NYSE: LAZ), LAM offers a range of equity, fixed­ income, and alternative investment products worldwide. As of December 31, 2016, LAM and affiliated asset management companies in the Lazard Group managed US$198 billion worth of client assets.

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Mark East’s role as CIO will remain unchanged; he will continue to lead portfolio construction and investment strategy, supported by BAEP’s experienced team of Senior Investment Analysts and Strategists. In response to the evolving needs of the business, Paul’s role as CEO will be restructured and transitioned to Keith Hwang, Director Quantitative Research and one of the founding team members, and newly appointed Investment Director, Julian Beaumont.

Julian joins BAEP from Investors Mutual where he has worked for the last seven years, most recently as a Portfolio Manager of the Future Leaders and Industrial Share Funds. Prior to this, Julian worked in London at international investment firm Montpelier Group, where he helped establish several new funds and went on to manage a global equities hedge fund.

Craig Bingham, Director of BAEP and CEO of Bennelong Funds Management, has thanked Paul for his invaluable contribution to what has grown to become one of the industry’s boutique success stories. “BAEP’s achievements are to be commended, having built a strong track record and reputation in the industry. We extend our sincere thanks to Paul for his role in building the BAEP business and brand in both the retail and institutional markets.”

Whilst there is a touch of nostalgia in leaving the business that has been his focus for the last seven years, Paul Cuddy said he knows he is leaving the business in a strong position. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at BAEP working with such talented and experienced professionals. However, my role in building the investment process, team and client channels is effectively complete. I sincerely wish the team all the best for future growth and success,” Paul said.

Paul will work with the business over the next five months to ensure a smooth transition into the new team structure.

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Paul Cuddy

The Bennelong Australian Equities Fund (the Core Fund) and the Bennelong Concentrated Australian Equities Fund (the Concentrated Fund) have celebrated their five-year anniversary.

Despite being launched against the backdrop of the GFC in 2008, the funds have enjoyed consistent inflows and delivered strong returns to investors. The Core Fund returned 17.50% and the Concentrated Fund 20.07% since inception p.a.*; the funds’ benchmark, the S&P/ASX 300 Accumulation Index, returned 12.76% over the same five-year period.

Both funds are managed by Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP), which is headed up by Paul Cuddy and Mark East and was established in 2008 in partnership with Bennelong Funds Management (Bennelong).

Celebrating the five-year anniversary of the funds, Paul said: “We are incredibly proud of our achievements so far, and we look forward to continuing to deliver innovative, high quality investment solutions to investors. Our partnership with Bennelong has successfully enabled us to remain focused on delivering results for our clients.”

BAEP has grown its client base over the last five years, which includes retail and high net wealth investors, super funds, and institutional clients, along with a presence on a range of platforms and dealer group approved product lists. The team also manage the Bennelong ex-20 Australian Equities Fund.

* Inception date is 30 January 2009. Performance figures as at 31 January 2014, since inception p.a. and gross (before fees and expenses). 

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The Fund is managed by Bennelong Australian Equity Partners (BAEP) and provides investors with access to a unique Australian equities portfolio that invests in companies outside the top 20 ASX listed stocks.

Experienced investment team
Lonsec Investment Analyst, Thembi Matabiswana, said the depth and breadth of experience across BAEP’s investment team is above average compared to industry peers, despite BAEP’s smaller team size. The team consists of six members including five with sector and stock research responsibilities and a dedicated quantitative research resource.

Key principals Paul Cuddy and Mark East (Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer respectively) previously co-headed the Australian equities operation at ING Investment Management, underpinning Lonsec’s increased conviction in Paul and Mark’s experience.

“The investment team has remained stable over the years, a clear demonstration of the cohesive culture in the organisation,” said Matamiswana.

Solid research and portfolio construction process
The Lonsec report considers BAEP’s stock research process to be solid, using a fundamental bottom-up active process supported by a multi-factor quantitative research platform. The multi-factor model is used to monitor and rank stocks on a series of alpha sensitive factors. “The tool allows for greater transparency and consistency across the research process,” the report noted.

Lonsec also stated that the Fund’s one-year return sits well above the Lonsec assessed peer average, and the Fund has clearly outperformed the small cap and mid cap sectors over the same period.

Paul Cuddy, BAEP’s CEO, said the team were delighted with the outcome of Lonsec’s review. “We are obviously very pleased with the rating upgrade – a great endorsement of the team’s efforts and processes,” Cuddy commented.

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