Perpetual, Pendal combine multi-asset teams

Perpetual is creating a new multi-asset strategies team, in a move that will see the departure of Pendal Group's head of multi-asset.

The fund manager said a recent review of its multi-asset capabilities resulted in a decision to merge the existing multi-asset businesses into one team.

The new team will be known as the Perpetual multi-asset strategies team and be led by current head of multi-asset at Perpetual, Michael O'Dea.

Also on the team is Matt Sherwood, David Hudson, Geoff Ryan, Russell Turner, Rema Elias, Alan Polley, Rita Bodrina and Ken Phang.

As a result of the decision, Pendal's head of multi asset Michael Blayney is leaving the organisation. However, he will stay on in an advisory capacity for the next six months to support the new team, Perpetual said.

Blayney joined Pendal in August 2017 from First State Super where he served as head of investment strategy. He's also previously worked at Perpetual, including as head of diversified strategies.

"We are bringing together the Perpetual and Pendal multi-asset teams as one enhanced team with greater scale and resources to support better client outcomes," Perpetual said.

"This team will be uniquely placed to build investment solutions to meet emerging client needs by accessing the combined intellectual property and experience of both the Perpetual and Pendal multi-asset teams."

Blayney was portfolio manager of 11 funds, of which O'Dea will now assume responsibility for 10.

These are the Pendal Active Balanced Fund, Pendal Active Conservative Fund, Pendal Active Moderate Fund, Pendal Active Growth Fund, Pendal Active High Growth Fund, Pendal Multi-Asset Target Return Fund, Pendal Sustainable Balanced - Class R, Pendal Sustainable Balanced Fund - Class Z, Pendal Sustainable Conservative Fund, and the Pendal Sustainable International Share Fund.

The eleventh fund, the Pendal Balanced Returns Fund, is set to be terminated. The fund has been in existence since November 1989, however, as of February 29, it had just $20.84 million in funds under management.

It has consistently underperformed its benchmark, a blend of relevant indices; over one year it's returned 7.95 per cent post-fees versus the benchmark's 12.98 per cent and since inception it's underperformed the benchmark by close to 1 per cent.

"The fund's small size means that it has high running costs and cannot be managed in a cost-efficient way," Pendal said.

"We also consider that the fund has little prospect of significant growth in funds under management in the foreseeable future. If the fund were to continue, the fund's size would result in higher management costs for investors, which would reduce their investment returns."