Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
Franklin Templeton wins big as fund manager award winners revealed
Money manager Franklin Templeton has taken the major gong at the 35th annual Fund Manager of the Year Awards ceremony, held at The Star in Sydney Thursday night.
Franklin Templeton Australia was named Fund Manager of the Year at the event, beating out fellow finalists BlackRock Investment Management (Australia), Lazard Asset Management, Macquarie Asset Management and VanEck.
After 35 years, the Fund Manager of The Year Awards are Australia’s longest running independent fund awards. Hosted by economist and former chief economic adviser to then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Stephen Koukoulas, this year’s event saw three individual and 18 group awards handed out to the industry’s peak performers.
Franklin Templeton featured heavily in the program, being shortlisted in four fund award categories.
“Franklin Templeton has been partnering with clients in Australia for over 35 years and we are proud of our long history, commented Felicity Walsh, managing director and head of Australia and New Zealand at the fund manager. “We are thrilled to receive this recognition from industry peers as we continue to work collaboratively with clients across market segments to build strategies that meet their objectives.
“Franklin Templeton’s operating model and over 1,300 research and investment professionals offer our clients the benefits of both global strength and local specialisation from leading investment managers with expertise across asset classes, geographies, and investment vehicles.”
Sector winners included DNR Capital, which took out the Australian Large Cap Equity Fund of the Year award for its Australian Equities High Conviction Capital Portfolio fund, and First Sentier, who won the Australian Small Cap Equity Fund award for its Wholesale Australian Small Companies Fund.
Clearbridge took out the Infrastructure Fund of the Year award for its ClearBridge RARE Infrastructure Value Fund – Unhedged, while Charter Hall beat out Australian Unity to take out the Unlisted Real Estate Fund of the Year award for its Charter Hall Direct Industrial Fund No.4.
In the Passive category, BlackRock beat out Betashares, Global X and Van Eck to take home the gong for its iShares Core Composite Bond ETF.
The Emerging Fund Manager of the Year award for 2023 was handed to privately owned group Pzena Investment Management, which beat out Ruffer LLP, Skerryvore Asset Management, Fortlake Asset Management and Aikya Investment Management.
Bentham won the Global Fixed Income of the Year award for its Global Income Fund over fellow finalists Brandywine, Perpetual, PIMCO and T. Rowe Price.
