Edwina Maloney

North, one of Australia’s leading wrap investment platforms, continues to expand its investment menu with the addition of seven actively managed portfolios to the platform.

North’s broader menu has also grown this year with the addition of 44 new managed funds, as AMP continues to invest in choice and optionality for advisers.

The last 12 months has seen growing demand from advisers for more choice in ESG options on North, providing their clients with flexibility when it comes to selecting responsible investment options.

Responding to adviser demand, North is pleased to welcome the addition of DNR Capital’s Australian Equities Socially Responsible Portfolio to the platform.

The portfolio offers concentrated exposure to high quality large and mid-cap Australian listed equities.

It is designed for investors who seek an actively managed Australian equities portfolio that adopts a negative screening strategy, combined with an ESG ratings assessment, ESG integration and company engagement.

DNR Capital’s Socially Responsible Portfolio has been certified by the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) in accordance with the strict guidelines of its Responsible Investment Certification Program.

Medalist Core Range now available on North

North continues to invest in enhancing the breadth and flexibility of its investment menu, with a total of 111 high-quality managed portfolios now on offer across multiple asset classes and investment strategies.

Joining the investment menu this month are six actively managed portfolios from Morningstar’s Medalist Core range, made up of Morningstar Medalist rated managed funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Morningstar’s portfolios use a combination of active and passive strategies ensuring clients have a robust, research-led investment solution. The suite is available to advisers across various investment horizons and a broad set of risk profiles, ranging from Conservative to All Growth.

Flexibility and choice a priority for advisers

North has improved its year-on-year satisfaction and has been able to create a highly competitive position among managed account users seeking both choice and flexibility, according to research from independent consultant NMG.

Among managed account users, the research found AMP’s North platform rated well on relationships, with managed account advisers viewing it as a “market leader”.

North’s Research Choice managed accounts range has just been awarded a 4 star ‘Superior’ rating from external rating agency SQM, underlining both the meaningful historical performance and high calibre management of the range.

The North platform was also recently awarded Chant West’s 5 Apples Highly Recommended Platform Rating for MyNorth for 2023, the highest available from the independent research house.

For more information about North’s new features and its expanded investment menu, please see our Investment Options page here or visit https://www.northonline.com.au/adviser/investment-options

AMP Group Executive, Platforms, Edwina Maloney, said: “AMP continues to invest in strengthening its managed account functionality and its multi-asset group capability, with strong ratings compared to our peers.”

“The addition of ESG and multi-asset portfolios from DNR Capital and Morningstar reflect the feedback we’ve received from advisers on what matters most to them and their clients, with North now having 111 high-quality managed portfolios available.”

“We are continuing to expand North’s investment menu to give advisers the very best in range, flexibility and seamless on-platform experience.”

Morningstar Director of Research Products, Australia and New Zealand, Rick Di Cristoforo said: “Morningstar is excited to have our Medalist Core portfolios be added to the North platform. The Medalist portfolios are a marrying of our extensive Research and Investment capabilities.”

“We are pleased that advisers who seek to provide an implementation of our quality fund research and asset allocation within the well-regarded North platform will have access to this offering”.

DNR Capital, Chief Executive Officer, Robert White said: “We’ve had a long affiliation with AMP, already having a number of our products available via the North platform and we’re pleased to continue our strong partnership with them.”

The post North investment menu gets a lift with ESG and multi-asset managed portfolio additions appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Retirees in the drivers seat with investment choice.

Alliance approach provides financial planning practitioners support in building innovative retirement income solutions for specific individual investor objectives

Financial advisers are no longer content with the traditional benchmarking approach to investment returns and are instead seeking solutions that cater to the specific needs of investors – particularly retirees, according to Russell Investments and echoed by Matrix Planning Solutions.

The trend is reflective of nascent shift in investment objectives: investors want portfolios that are designed to achieve outcomes that are more closely aligned their goals, rather than simply trying to beat a common industry benchmark.

In a move designed to address this demand, Russell Investments has partnered with Matrix Planning Solutions, a leading independently owned financial planning network, to develop and launch the PartnerShip Funds – five actively managed portfolios designed to deliver different outcomes depending on the investor’s life stage and needs.

Since officially launching in December 2012, all five PartnerShip Funds are ahead of their annual objectives on a pro-rata basis. The PartnerShip Growth Fund has achieved the strongest performance, posting a return of 10.8% for the year to August 2013. This is well in excess of its official target objective – the Reserve Bank of Australia Cash Rate + 4.5%.

Russell Investment’s Managing Director Private Client Services, Siva Sivakumaran, attributes the funds’ success to the collaborative approach of the partnership which is reflected in the effective operation of the joint Investment Committee.

“The Investment Committee has been established to ensure open discussion between the two parties. It’s made up of representatives from both Russell and Matrix Planning Solutions who meet regularly to discuss market developments and quantitative research which is then made available to advisers,” Mr Sivakumaran said.

Matrix Planning Solutions’ Managing Director, Rick di Cristoforo, said the partnership has provided a platform for advisers to access quality investment information which is used to devise strategies that accommodate the life-stages and investment needs of individual retail investors.

“It reflects the commitment from both Russell and Matrix Planning Solutions to provide advisers with the most effective tools to maximise the likelihood their clients realise their investment goals,” he says.

In aligning with Russell Investments, Matrix Planning Solutions consulted heavily with its adviser network who indicated more tailored client solutions were needed in achieving business growth amid a sustained period of reform.

Other key performance figures for monthly returns for the year to 31 August include:

• PartnerShip Balanced Fund posted a net return of 7.69%, which is 3.72% in excess of its Reserve Bank of Australia Cash Rate plus 3% target (pro-rated)
• PartnerShip Debt Management Fund posted a net return of 7.67%, 4.26% above its target of 80% of the Australian Banks Average Variable Mortgage Rate (pro-rated).

Through the partnership arrangement, retail investors are able to benefit from Russell’s unique capabilities in its five core areas – capital markets insights, manager research, portfolio construction, indexes and portfolio implementation.

Mr Sivakumaran said as the investment landscape grows increasingly complex, there is a shift towards outcome-oriented investing which addresses the need for products focused on objectives understandable by the investor.

“Along with the global multi-asset surge, it becomes evident that Russell has a lot to offer through our experience in crafting adaptive portfolios that delivers the right outcomes for investors,” he said.

The post Retirees drive demand for outcome-oriented approach to investing appeared first on AdviserVoice.