By managing money directly and with talented boutique managers we maintain our focus on bringing unique products to market while our partners focus on what they do best – investing.
Mortgages
Our mortgage funds are managed “in-house” and are extremely popular because we recognise that for some investors the security of capital is critical but it’s also important to receive a consistent income – our products provide just that.
Property
We also have an impressive portfolio of managed funds that hold real estate. With years of experience in managing real property assets, we know that secure tenants, the potential to increase the value of the properties and good mixes of locations are vital. So we’ve recruited a team of professionals with a keen eye for property to ensure the value of our property portfolio is optimized at all times.
LifePlan Funds Management
Lifeplan Funds Management (Lifeplan) is a specialist retail funds management organisation and market leader in the investment bond and funeral bond markets, and a leading provider of education savings plans. Lifeplan also offers loans and term deposits through its Building Society. The company has grown through innovative product development and also through successful strategic mergers, building its niche business focus. Australian Unity merged with Lifeplan in August 2009.
Platypus Asset Management
Specialist boutique Australian equities manager, Platypus, was founded in 1998 by Donald Williams and Nicholas Wright. Before forming its joint venture with Australian Unity Investments, the investment skills of Platypus were generally only available to institutional and high net worth, private investors. Platypus’ investment approach focuses on companies with long-term growth potential. Recognised for its high conviction approach, Platypus invests in fewer stocks than many other Australian equity managers (generally between 25 and 35).
Vianova Asset Management
Established in 2005, Vianova Asset Management is a boutique fund manager specialising in fixed interest securities. Rather than relying on a benchmark for investing in the fixed interest sector, Vianova focuses on making the best investment decisions possible, not creating a portfolio aligned with what everyone else is doing. Aiming to decrease risk while increasing returns, Vianova currently manages in excess of $1 billion in funds under management.
Acorn Capital
Established in 1999, Acorn Capital was Australia’s first investment manager to focus solely on Australian shares outside the top 250 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Acorn specialises in extensive research so it can discover the hidden potential of stocks that are often neglected by other fund managers.
Wingate Asset Management
Wingate Asset Management is a boutique international equities fund manager with a large company, value based investment philosophy. The investment process seeks to combine long term capital growth with continual income generation. Wingate’s approach is to invest in a concentrated portfolio of very high quality companies from around the world. Wingate describes its approach as ‘conservative’ and preserving investors’ capital is a priority.
Seres Asset Management
Seres Asset Management (Seres) is a boutique fund manager specialising in Asian equities and is based and registered in Hong Kong. Seres adopts an active, benchmark-unaware approach in Asian equities in order to achieve investment returns and performance regardless of the market cycle. It takes a bottom-up stock selection approach, which is overlaid with macro-economic views to determine country and sector allocations. Seres is relatively unconstrained in regard to country and sector allocation, with stock-picking managed in line with a high conviction approach.
View Morningstar interview with David Bryant discussing Australian Unity's offshore interest.