Bennelong Funds Management has decided to close the Bennelong SGI Global Equities Fund and return all assets to investors following its announcement last week that its agreement with US-based Security Global Investors (SGI) had been terminated.
Due to the acquisition of SGI’s parent company and the subsequent closure of its global equities office in San Francisco, SGI was forced to terminate its agreement with Bennelong.
SGI managed the Bennelong SGI Global Equities Fund and the Bennelong SGI Global Equities Hedged Fund, both of which were placed on hold for 21 days from 10 February, 2011.
While SGI is obligated to manage the Bennelong SGI Global Equities Fund until early August, Bennelong has stated it will liquidate and return all assets to the underlying investors.
“Following an efficient review of the trust’s position and consideration of the uncertainty surrounding the SGI team’s dissolution, it was deemed that the most prudent course of action would be to terminate the fund and return the assets to investors promptly,” said Bennelong chief executive Jarrod Brown.
He said that the company’s search for a new global equities manager was well progressed and that they were looking for a “best-of-breed” manager to expand Bennelong’s suite of capabilities.
