AMP Capital outlines growth plans

AMP Capital has outlined plans to grow its business both domestically and offshore through building investment capability, expanding its reach into the retail market and offshore institutional markets and focusing more on income rather than benchmark-style investing.

AMP Capital managing director Stephen Dunne told a media briefing the group continued to build out its investment capability, with a number of key hires recently added to its Australian and Asian equities teams.

The group is looking to expand its Australian equities and multi-strategy capabilities into Asia, and had seeded a long/short Asian equity fund in the quantitative style alongside its more fundamental styles, Dunne said.

The group had also invested heavily in upgrading its fixed income system capabilities and continued to invest heavily in offshore infrastructure investment offices, he added. He pointed to a number of infrastructure opportunities in the US and Europe, where upgrades and greater renewable energy resources are required, as well as new infrastructure needs in markets such as China and India.

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Australian superannuation funds have led the way when it comes to embedding infrastructure as an asset class within portfolios, and there seems to be no stepping away from that in the near term, Dunne added.

There is also an overall move from benchmark-focused to more outcome-based investing within the group, in line with a greater awareness of the needs of pension investors as well as the current low-return, high-volatility market, he said.

"You'll see more from us in terms of bringing to market funds and capabilities that are focused on an investment outcome rather than the more traditional benchmark plus return," he said.

AMP Capital is also looking to move from being a predominantly institutional investment house to one more balanced between investment and retail capabilities, Dunne said.

Through the AMP merger with AXA, AMP Capital now has exposure to roughly 20 per cent of the total planner force in Australia and the opportunity to "deliver investment capability to a significant network that has been created through the merger", he said.

AMP Capital now has funds on more than 50 platforms and wraps and products on more than 50 external dealer group approved product lists. Around 11,000 external financial advisers are now using AMP Capital, AXA and ipac products, the group stated.