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.
Investors have slashed their US equity allocations to the lowest level on record, according to new data from Bank of America.
The message from experts in international trade and economists is that the Australian government should refrain from retaliating with reciprocal tariffs.
The market correction forecast by AMP’s chief economist is in full swing, with three weeks of turbulence culminating in significant losses on Tuesday.
Following a strong risk appetite in January, institutional investors have pulled back in February, with risk-seeking activity dropping to zero amid a decline in equity allocations.