Skandia Global appoints First State to manage its Pacific equity fund

Skandia Global Funds (SGF), the offshore fund management arm of Skandia, has appointed First State Investments as the new manager for its Pacific equity fund.

First State replaces Fidelity, which has managed the $124m fund since its launch in September 2000. SGF's decision to switch managers was based on the desire to implement a more active approach in Far Eastern markets. While Fidelity does not manage any other fund in the SGF range (20 in total), the fund manager handles around $1bn in assets for the Skandia group.

'Skandia's Global Investment Research Committee ' responsible for monitoring and selecting our fund managers ' has identified strengths in the First State Asia Pacific team which we are keen to capitalise on,' said Rob Williams, marketing director at SGF.

First State, which is part of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, adopts a bottom up stock picking approach, investing in quality companies, with sustainable earnings growth and at sensible prices.

Angus Tulloch, head of Asia Pacific equities at First State, said that together with SGF, the firm has tailored an investment solution focused on delivering consistent outperformance with clear benchmark risk control parameters.

'We are optimistic about the long-term outlook for the Asia Pacific region where both growth prospects and valuations are especially attractive,' said Tulloch.

Skandia's Global Investment Research Committee sets fund objectives and uses a '4-P' process to identify potential managers to work with: the Ps stand for a manager's philosophy, process, people and performance.

The Pacific equity fund will be renamed the Skandia Pacific equity fund.

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