AMP Capital to closes NZ equities management arm

AMP Capital's New Zealand equities team are leaving the company after a decision to outsource management of its portfolios to a third party.

Friday, January 9th 2015, 6:51AM

In a communication to clients yesterday AMP Capital said it had been reviewing its New Zealand equities management capabilities and decided to outsource them to a third-party manager.

The AMP Capital NZ Shares Fund is currently $499.62 mill according to Morningstar, while the Strategic Fund is $199.27 mill.

"The rationale for the decision has been driven by our views on the future growth, profitability and capacity of active equity management in New Zealand. We also took into account the need to have a stable team delivering that capability."

Last year AMP Capital's equities portfolio manager Douglas Lau left the business and now, because of this move, Head of New Zealand equities, Guy Elliffe, and senior portfolio manager Jonathan Davis, will leave the business as of January 28.

"The decision to outsource New Zealand equity management is not reflective of the performance of the portfolios."

It stresses there will be no change to its investment approach.

"AMP Capital will continue to provide a full range of single sector and multi-sector investment solutions across fixed income, listed property, infrastructure as well as ESG-led approaches, multi-manager solutions and dynamic asset allocation services. There are no changes to how any other asset classes are managed or where these investment teams are based.

"AMP Capital’s extensive experience in manager selection and manager research will help us to select the right manager for our clients and portfolios. We expect to transition the portfolios to the appointed manager by 31 March 2015," Acting Head of Distribution, Rebekah Swan, and Chief Investment Officer, global equities and fixed income, Mark Beardow, say in their letter to clients.

« NZIG awaits purchase approval

IFA working on pro-bono offering »

Special Offers