Few would disagree that a strong regulator is required for a strong superannuation system. But APRA’s myopic focus on cost to members means its $70,000 Christmas party is unlikely to help its reputation.
Good investing requires real sacrifices, according to Oaktree’s Howard Marks, but you can’t expect to be compensated just for making them.
AMP Capital goes about its globalisation business
Notwithstanding the financial setback suffered by its corporate parent, AMP Capital is continuing to push its global capabilities up the food chain, setting up a separate infrastructure equity unit to cater for large pension funds which seek sophisticated structures, such as co-investments and specialist investment management support.
AMP Capital announced last week that the new global direct investments team for infrastructure equity would be headed by Dylan Foo, as global head of direct investments, based in the US. Foo joined AMP Capital in 2006 and has worked in Europe as well as the US. He retains his position as head of North America infrastructure equity, which uses AMP offices in New York, Chicago and Orange County.
Patsy Sandys, an associate director on the infrastructure equity team in London, will head up the direct investments desk in Europe, reporting to Foo. She joined AMP Capital in her native New Zealand in 2009 as a legal counsel, before moving to London to become senior counsel and compliance officer, also working with the infrastructure investment team, which she joined full-time in 2016.
London-based Boe Pahari, global head of infrastructure equity for AMP Capital said that as demand for the asset class continued to grow, the competitive market had pushed up prices and was compressing yields, so investing selectively was crucial.
“Having established ourselves as a global mid-market sector specialist, supported by a number of landmark deals across multiple geographies, we understand how important it is for our large clients to increase their access to these opportunities…”
Pahari’s role includes private equity. AMP Capital also has a broader infrastructure equity teams with a presence in Australia and New Zealand which supports the global effort. The firm’s listed infrastructure offering forms part of its global equities business. Giuseppe Corona is AMP Capital’s head of global listed infrastructure within that team.
Last November, AMP Capital also announced that it had strengthened and globalised its sustainable investing capability with the recruitment of Emily Woodland in Hong Kong as co-head of sustainable investment alongside Ian Woods, who is based in Sydney.
From the start of this year, Adrian Williams, a real estate manager, has become ESG director for listed equities and real estate. And earlier last year, Karin Halliday, an AMP veteran with 34 years of experience, moved from Sydney, where she was senior manager of corporate governance, to London.
Apart from a 15 per cent stake in the giant Chinese insurer China Life, AMP has concentrated on organic growth for its global aspirations. Its big funds management acquisition, that of Henderson Plc in 1998, ended in tears (see separate report on Andrew Formica this edition).
– G.B.
