Judgement Day for Australian Ethical
The future of funds management group Australian Ethical will be decided at a key meeting of shareholders in Canberra today.
The shareholders will decide at a general meeting whether to change the company's funds management team, along with a range of issues raised by a group of dissident shareholders.
The meeting is being held against the background of IOOF chief executive Chris Kelaher having signalled his company's support for the existing management of Australian Ethical.
In a letter filed with the Australian Securities Exchange last week, Kelaher said it was the intention of IOOF's wholly owned subsidiary, Select Managed Funds, to support Australian Ethical's existing management team.
He said it was the intention of Select Managed Funds to vote against all the resolutions to be put to today's extraordinary general meeting.
He pointed out that IOOF held 19.59 per cent of the voting shares in Australian Ethical.
Among the issues raised by the group challenging the existing management and board of Australian Ethical are an alleged destruction of staff morale, a decline in shareholder value and alleged increased levels of executive remuneration.
Recommended for you
Clime Investment Management has welcomed an independent director to its board, which follows a series of recent appointments at the company.
Ethical investment manager Australian Ethical has cited the ongoing challenging market environment for its modest decrease in assets over the latest quarter.
Commentators have said Australian fund managers are less knowledgeable compared with overseas peers when it comes to expanding their range with ETFs and underestimating the competition from passive strategies.
VanEck is to list two ETFs on the ASX next week, one investing in residential mortgage-backed securities and the other in Indian companies.
