An Australian superannuation fund has awarded a $100 million mandate to Sigma Funds Management (Sigma) to invest across their range of large-cap and small-cap Australian equity strategies.
The mandate comes as Sigma appoints 12-year veteran of international equity trading Sanjay Kumar as a specialist equities dealer.
Kumar was previously senior equities dealer at ING Investment Management for seven years and oversaw trading for more than $12 billion in Australian equities. He held the position of equities dealer at Deutsche Asset Management, assisting with the management of over $10 billion in Australian equities.
Stephen Guibin, co-founder and director of Sigma, said Kumar's experience with substantial funds under management would position the boutique to manage large mandate sizes. He said increasing market volatility means investors are focused on managers with strong risk and quality features.
The mandate and appointment cap off a successful year for the Sydney-based boutique who partnered with Pinnacle Investment Management in late 2011 to receive distribution and infrastructure support.
Sigma's small companies strategy outperformed the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index by 13.9 per cent over the 12 months to 31 March 2012.
The $75 billion fund has gained exposure to decarbonisation solutions in its first listed equities impact investment.
The superannuation fund is expanding its investment exposure to industrial property through a $1 billion partnership with Barings, a global investment manager.
AustralianSuper has usurped the Future Fund as the biggest Australian asset owner, jumping from 43rd to 36th place globally, according to an annual study by the Thinking Ahead Institute.
IFM Investors, the global institutional asset manager owned by superannuation funds, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the UK government to invest £10 billion by 2027.
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