Aussie small-cap managers announce merger
Two Australian small-cap asset managers have announced they are seeking to merge the businesses.
Monash Investors has announced it will be acquired by DMX Asset Management and it will sit within the broader DMX Group, having been in discussions since September 2023.
“The merging of our firms in this way broadens and deepens our combined investment coverage of the entire small and micro-cap space, and merging back-office functions will allow the investment team to be wholly focused on delivering for our clients in the years ahead,” a statement from Monash said.
DMX added: “We are delighted to be merging our teams and expanding the capability of the combined group to comprehensively cover the small and micro-cap universe.”
Following the completion of the merger, DMX AM principal Michael Haddad, who manages the DMX Australian Shares Fund, will join the portfolio management team of Monash as co-portfolio manager alongside Monash co-founders Simon Shields and Shane Fitzgerald.
Monash portfolio manager Sebastian Correia will move to a role as senior investment analyst and DMX AM principal Steven McCarthy will sit on the investment committee.
There will be no change to the mandates, strategies or structures of any of the funds across either Monash or DMX AM, the firms said.
Monash Investors was set up in 2012 and runs a Small Companies Fund, while DMX AM was founded in 2015 and runs an unlisted DMX Capital Partners and a wholesale DMX Australian Shares Fund, managing around $37 million.
Separately to the merger, Monash Investors confirmed it has moved investors in its listed Small Companies Trust (MAAT) to the unlisted Small Companies Fund. Both funds have the same investment strategy and investment process, but the firm said the change would reduce the ongoing operating costs for MAAT.
MAAT first began trading on the ASX in June 2021, following a transition from a listed investment company into an exchange-traded managed fund. This aimed to eliminate the discount to NTA and create liquidity for investors but had the unintended consequence of higher operating costs for investors. As a result, Monash decided a merger with the unlisted fund would help manage investor access.
“The key benefit to investors in MAAT is the elimination of significant ASX-related expenses and investors across both funds benefit from the greater scale and focus from operating just one fund with our proven track record in Australian small companies. The merger proposal received a 100 per cent unanimous vote in support and the transaction was completed in June.”
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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