The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

Allfunds, MA Financial
MA Financial, an alternative asset manager, has announced that a suite of its flagship and specialist investment strategies has been added to Allfunds, the tech-powered funds distribution platform with about €1.6 trillion in assets under administration.

The move, which is a “significant step” in MA Financial’s push to expand access to its Australian private credit strategies through Asia, means that distributors in 65 places – including Singapore and Hong Kong - can access MA Financial’s offerings.

MA Financial said in a statement that it is the first Australian private markets manager to be added to the Allfunds platform. The firm specialises in private credit, real estate and hospitality. "We lend to property, corporate and specialty finance sectors and provide corporate advice," it said. The firm, which invests and manages $12.7 billion for clients, has more than 700 professionals across locations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and the US. 

In June this year, Allfunds said its group CEO and founder Juan Alcaraz was leaving. The former CEO of Global Private Banking and Wealth, Annabel Spring has taken the helm.

Alcaraz built Allfunds from a small business unit within Banco Santander to a large firm. (Santander sold its stake in 2017.)

This publication also interviewed the business recently to find out how its funds transaction data illuminates the flows into and out of the US, European and other regions' financial markets.

Avantis
Avantis Investors, an $88 billion investment offering from the global asset manager American Century Investments, has entered the Australian market, launching its first three dual access exchange-traded funds). 

The funds: Avantis Small Cap Value Active ETF (AVTS), Avantis Global Equity Active ETF (AVTG) and Avantis Emerging Markets Equity Active ETF (AVTE).

All three new active ETFs seek long-term capital appreciation through investment in actively managed portfolios, Avantis said in a statement. 

“Many Australian investors have been interested in Avantis since we launched six years ago. We are thrilled to now have our investment solutions available in Australia,” Eduardo Repetto, Avantis Investors CIO on behalf of American Century, said. “These dual access vehicles offer eligible investors the flexibility to choose what’s right for them and their clients. Each strategy can be accessed by ETF or managed fund.”