NGS Super has chosen Kansas City-headquartered American Century Investments for its $150 million mandate to invest in the $237 billion global asset manager’s global small cap strategy as local investors require an increased exposure to global small caps.
The super fund said it had selected American Century due to its strength of the investment team, coupled with their alignment on environmental, social, governance (ESG) principles.
The Missouri-based firm, which entered the Australian market in 2018 servicing institutional and wholesale investors, had approximately US$238 billion ($323.9 billion) in assets under management as of July 12, 2021 and it currently managed approximately $2.5 billion in Australian funds under management, from both institutions and platforms.
“The mandate reflects the strength of our global capabilities, and our client-focused service offering. Global small caps offer distinct overall portfolio diversification due to the asset class’s low correlations to developed markets, global large caps and regional small and large-cap stocks,” American Century’s head of Australia and New Zealand, Elizabeth Trinh, said.
“Also, the space may provide rich alpha opportunities and attractive long-term risk-adjusted returns. Our experienced and dedicated small cap team has achieved a compelling track record over the long-term.”
NGS Super services those in non-government education and community organisations and it currently has 111,000 members and 11,000 employer groups with $12 billion invested.
