S&P removes 'on hold' from CFS strategies
Standard & Poor’s has assigned three-star ratings to two 452 Capital-managed large-cap Australian equities strategies distributed by Colonial First State.
The funds had been on hold since July 2009, when it was announced that 452 Capital co-founder and lead portfolio manager Peter Morgan would be taking extended leave for medical reasons.
“S&P has since met with 452 on a number of occasions, and we believe the team is functioning well and appears highly committed,” said S&P fund services analyst James Gunn.
“Although Morgan’s absence is a significant loss, we have sufficient confidence in the current team to continue to manage the funds during this period and beyond. Morgan was the lead portfolio manager and was ultimately accountable for the final portfolio, but investment decision-making and the determination of stock weights was always the collective responsibility of the three portfolio managers,” he said.
The affected funds are the CFS 452 Wholesale Australian Share and the CFS 452 Wholesale Geared Australian Share.
“The opportunity for the current team will be to capitalise on any extended period of more ‘normalised’ market conditions as a demonstration of its stock-picking abilities. Importantly for investors, 452 has remained true to label and not compromised its style or process, despite market conditions at times being significantly at odds with the manager’s conservative value approach,” he said.
Recommended for you
Net cash flow on AMP’s platforms saw a substantial jump in the last quarter to $740 million, while its new digital advice offering boosted flows to superannuation and investment.
Insignia Financial has provided an update on the status of its private equity bidders as an initial six-week due diligence period comes to an end.
A judge has detailed how individuals lent as much as $1.1 million each to former financial adviser Anthony Del Vecchio, only learning when they contacted his employer that nothing had ever been invested.
Having rejected the possibility of an IPO, Mason Stevens’ CEO details why the wealth platform went down the PE route and how it intends to accelerate its growth ambitions in financial advice.
