Schroders Australia will bolster its multi-asset team with Angus Sippe set to join as portfolio manager in the September quarter. Schroders deputy head of multi-asset, Simon Stevenson, announced his retirement last week after 13 years with the global investment firm.

Stevenson will officially retire at the end of 2020, Schroders multi-asset head, Simon Doyle, confirmed last week. “We would like to thank Simon for his outstanding contribution and wish him all the best for his retirement,” Doyle said. He said Schroders has had a succession plan in place for some time.

“Planning for succession in investment management is important as the process needs to be more durable than any one individual,” Doyle said. Sippe moves to Schroders Australia following a seven-year stint at the manager’s New York office. An Australian national, he began his Schroders career in London in 2009, holding roles in the firm’s multi-asset and strategic solutions arms. As well, Sippe is a voting member of the Schroders global asset allocation committee. AMP Capital invests about half of its multi-asset fund into a Schroders strategy.

Doyle heads the multi-asset team of 12 including former NZ Superannuation investment analysis manager, Roland Winn. “The diversity and depth within the team will enable us to continue to drive investment outcomes for our clients and support the continued growth our multi-asset business in Australia,” Doyle said.

He said the multi-asset investment style, which is a modern take on the balanced fund concept, performed more-or-less as expected during the recent volatility, providing some protection against falling markets. “But it’s a very heterogeneous space,” Doyle said. “There are many different approaches.”

Schroders has an “objectives-based” model built around the ability to allocate across many asset classes without reference to any benchmarks.

– David Chaplin, Investment News NZ