Dynamics of asset consulting market have changed

Big meat industry fund, AMIST has acknowledged the market has moved since it last appointed an asset consultant, something which has prompted it to review its needs.

The fund confirmed last week that it had launched a tender process around its asset consulting needs, with the fund's head of investment, Murray Rutherford telling Super Review that while the fund had highly regarded its relationship with JANA, the time had come to test the market.

"The market has moved, there are more players and there are different models," he said.

AMIST is being advised on the tender process by Deloitte, with Deloitte partner, Russell Mason confirming the degree to which the dynamics of the asset consulting market had been altered over the past half-decade or so.

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He said that while JANA, Frontier Investment Advisers, Mercer, and Towers Watson remained the "big four" new entrants such as Cambridge Associates and Whitehelm had entered the equation for superannuation funds.

What is more he said clients were increasingly willing to unbundle services and to split asset consulting mandates.

"The traditional asset consulting model has changed and the needs of super funds have become much more specialised and individualistic," Mason said.

AMIST is expected to announce the outcome of its process before the end of April, with Rutherford stressing that JANA was still very much part of the mix.