Dixon Advisory moves further into LIC management

Dixon Advisory & Superannuation Services yesterday took the investment management reins of the Asian Masters Fund (AMF), a listed investment company of which a number of Dixon executives are board members.

The new management arrangement was agreed on in early December, the group’s statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said, with previous managers, Orient Pacific Partners, resigning to “concentrate on other projects”. Dixon Advisory has now stepped into its place in a five-year deal.

While the fund was under the management of Orient Pacific Partners, the investment committee of the Asian Masters Fund included Dixon Advisory executives and AMF board members Max Walsh, Daryl Dixon, Alan Dixon and Alex MacLachlan — as well as AMF independent director Kevin Chin and Orient managing director Graham Chee.

That investment committee will “remain in place for the present time”, the group told shareholders in October as it prepared for a vote on the changeover at its annual general meeting.

Dixon’s Alex MacLachlan will lead the investment team responsible for managing AMF’s portfolio. MacLachlan’s background is in investment banking, specialising in the natural resources sectors, but he also has experience in the Asia Pacific region, AMF’s statement to the ASX said.

MacLachlan is also currently the managing director and an investment committee member of the Global Resources Masters Fund and a director of the Australian Masters Corporate Bond Fund series of companies — all funds prominently promoted by Dixon Advisory.

Earlier this year Dixon Advisory won control of the board of listed investment company Van Eyk Three Pillars, but the group failed to achieve the same result in a similar bid for board control of Premium Investors.