(Pictured: George Carter)
AMP Capital has delayed the handover of its NZ equities mandate to Salt Funds Management by up to a month.
George Carter, AMP Capital NZ head of distribution, said transition of NZ$690 million-odd portfolio, originally scheduled for March 31, has been put back as the fund manager deals with “a few internal things”.
“It’s really just some paperwork we have to sort out – it’s got nothing to do with the Salt end of things,” Carter said.
He said AMP clients have been informed of the slight hold-up.
On its website, AMP Capital says Salt “will assume the role as investment manager of the Fund on or before 1 May 2015”.
“Prior to then, AMP Capital will continue to provide investment management services in respect of the Fund,” AMP says on the site.
Carter said the Australian equities team, headed by Michael Price, which has been managing the NZ portfolio since last December, would remain in control until the transition was complete.
After a three-month tender process, Salt, an Auckland-based boutique spun out of Westpac/BT in 2013, won the $690 million AMP mandate late this March.
AMP decided to outsource management of NZ equities after sacking its in-house team, headed by Guy Eliffe, last December. In November 2014, AMP Capital also lost a long-standing local shares mandate with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund valued at about $260 million.
The NZS has yet to replace AMP on its roster, although it has since drawn up a short-list of candidates.
Carter said the original March 31 deadline for the Salt transition was always going to be tight.
He said when Salt does assume control the portfolio is unlikely to change radically overnight.
“One of the reasons we selected Salt was because of its compatibility [with AMP’s investment style],” Carter said. “And we didn’t want to see a flood of stocks on the market during any changeover.”
Salt also manages a similar amount of money in local shares for the principals’ former employer, Westpac/BT.
– David Chaplin, publisher of Investment News NZ
