Despite being a growing reservoir of funds under management, this critically important pool of capital is confronting mounting problems collating and disseminating key data in a timely manner.
The ratings house is pinning its growth strategy on a revamped methodology that increases the emphasis on governance to 25 per cent – a timely move considering APRA’s proposed reforms.
Eight IP picks up Colonial small-cap mandate
Kerry Series
Eight Investment Partners (8IP) has doubled the size of its Australian small-cap funds with the confirmation last week of a $55 million mandate from Colonial First State – the firm’s first institutional investor.
8IP was established in 2009 by Kerry Series, a co-founder of Perennial Investment Partners and former head of Asia Pacific equities at AMP Capital. He and other staff bought out the majority shareholder in the firm, South Africa’s Sanlam, in March last year. Sanlam had earlier purchased small-cap manager Atom Funds Management, with 8IP rebranding that fund in 2012.
Series said last week the Colonial mandate represented a milestone for the firm, which had until recently attracted mainly high-net-worth investors.
The mandate will be co-managed by Series and another principal, Stephen Walsh.
8IP aims to identify three types of companies in its research: ‘stars’, ‘turnarounds’ and under-researched stocks, Series said. The three-year average return for the small-cap strategy is 17.4 per cent net of fees.
