Prime Super has awarded an Australian equities mandate to boutique fund manager Merlon Capital Partners.
The industry fund will utilise Merlon’s Concentrated Australian Share strategy, which focuses on high conviction, long-term investing in companies that may be overlooked due to short term concerns or the pursuit of popular trends.
Michael McQueen, general manager for investment at Prime Super, said: “Merlon’s contrarian approach, with a focus on capital preservation, will play an important role in seeking to deliver strong risk adjusted returns within our Australian equities portfolio over the long term.”
Merlon Capital co-founder and lead portfolio manager Neil Margolis said the $160 million mandate reflects a growing institutional interest in high conviction, active management within the Australian market.
“We are delighted to support Prime Super’s members. Our approach is built on independent fundamental research and a long-term perspective, which is particularly relevant in the current environment, where valuation discipline and fundamentals are paramount to cutting through market volatility and noise.”
The appointment comes weeks after the firm appointed Frontier Advisors to be its asset consultant from 1 June. It said Frontier was selected following a competitive process, with the adviser assessed as the leading contender based on the strength of its consulting team, depth of research, portfolio construction capability and cultural fit.
