On October 10, Professional Planner and Zenith Investment Partners will reveal the winners in the 2014 Fund Awards. This year Zenith has added one new award category, taking the total to 19, including the Fund Manager of the Year, and the Product Distributor of the Year.
The new category covers listed investment companies, (LICs) reflecting the high level of interest and use of these vehicles by financial planners. Zenith has previously extended the scope of the awards to include exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and this latest addition rounds out coverage of ASX-listed investment vehicles.
The Professional Planner|Zenith Fund Awards are based on Zenith’s robust and highly regarded investment methodology, and will be announced at a luncheon function at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney. Bookings for the event, which can be made online, open soon. As always, places at this industry-standard event are limited.
Zenith assesses a wide range of different aspects of a fund manager’s business, including:
• organisational strength;
• investment philosophy;
• investment process;
• investment team;
• security selection;
• security valuation;
• portfolio construction;
• risk management; and
• performance
The award for Fund Manager of the Year was taken out in 2013 by Perpetual Investments, and competition for this accolade is always fierce. Fund Distributor of the Year was awarded to Macquarie Professional Series.
Among other 2013 winners were AMP Capital (Australian fixed interest); PIMCO (global and diversified fixed interest); Russell Investment Management (diversified funds); Perpetual (Australian equities – large-cap) MFS Investment Management (international equities – global).
Professional Planner will focus on the award categories – as well as all managers nominated for an award – in the weeks leading up to the October 10 announcement of the winners; and it will also provide exclusive and comprehensive coverage of all winners on the day.
