Russell goes on boutique Quest

Fledgling boutique fund manager Quest Asset Partners has been appointed by Russell Investment Group to manage about $35 million for its Russell Australian Shares Aggressive Fund.

The appointment, which gives Quest a 15 per cent weighting within the Russell fund, is a replacement for Portfolio Partners, which had managed 25 per cent of the fund.

The remaining 10 per cent of Portfolio Partner’s former allocation has been equally distributed to incumbents 452 Capital and ABN AMRO Asset Management.

Launched in August last year, Quest is owned and managed by co-directors Michael Evans and Christopher Cahill, both of whom quit AMP to establish the boutique investment manager.

Quest, which will accept wholesale mandates only, is aiming to deliver an absolute return for Russell, generated by a concentrated portfolio of 20-25 stocks mainly comprising mid and smaller capitalisation growth companies.

Russell’s director of portfolio management Australia, Symon Parish, said Quest’s “concentrated approach would continue to focus the fund’s risk on stock selection, while preserving its broad style neutrality”.

He said Quest’s “high conviction portfolio is constructed with approximately equal weights in each stock, rather than a weight relative to any index”.

“We are excited to be one of the first investment vehicles to offer smaller investors and financial planners access to Quest, which we feel is well positioned to outperform over the coming year.”