Key Takeaways
- • Ausbil chief investment officer Paul Xiradis faces internal and external scrutiny over his personal pre-IPO investment in Firmus, a data centre company founded by Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield, which holds a stake in Ausbil's flagship fund.
- • Ausbil manages approximately $22 billion, and Firmus holdings are spread across multiple funds but concentrated in the Australian Active Equity Fund, which Xiradis manages.
- • The unlisted status of Firmus creates valuation challenges for the Australian Active Equity Fund, which is otherwise composed almost entirely of listed blue-chip companies.
- • Ausbil has experienced recent personnel departures, including Tom Cutler to Ophir Asset Management and Andrew Peros to L1 Capital, and the closure of its $27 million long-short focus fund.
- • Speculation links the personnel movements to internal discussions about Xiradis's Firmus investment and its disclosure, with queries reportedly reaching parent company New York Life.
Summary
Ausbil's chief investment officer, Paul Xiradis, has drawn attention from rival investors after making a significant pre-IPO investment in Firmus, a data centre company founded by Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield. The move has raised eyebrows given Ausbil's $22 billion in assets under management and Xiradis's personal acquisition of shares in the same venture. Conflict-averse fund managers typically channel personal capital into their own managed funds, which is why such individual investments are increasingly scrutinised.
The decision is creating internal reverberations at Ausbil, particularly around the valuation of its Firmus holdings. These holdings are spread across multiple funds but are predominantly held in the flagship Australian Active Equity Fund, managed by Xiradis. That fund is almost entirely composed of listed blue-chip companies, making the unlisted Firmus a notable outlier. Ausbil's September update highlighted Firmus as an overweight position, but its unlisted status complicates marking its value, which is critical to overall fund performance. The fund's product disclosure statement permits investments in "unlisted companies which are expected to be listed," a criterion Xiradis initially anticipated for Firmus.
Ausbil has also experienced recent personnel shifts. Small-cap specialist Tom Cutler departed for Ophir Asset Management, and portfolio manager Andrew Peros joined L1 Capital in August. Ausbil chief executive Mark Knight recently announced the complete closure of the $27 million long-short focus fund, which led to the departures of deputy head of equities Gian Pandit and co-portfolio manager Chris Smith, who is also Ausbil's head of research. Some in the fund management community speculate these movements are linked to internal discussions about Xiradis's Firmus investment and its disclosure, with queries reportedly reaching Ausbil's parent company, New York Life. These links remain unconfirmed in the source reporting.
The difficulty of accurately valuing Firmus shares remains a pressing topic among fund managers, and Xiradis faces heightened pressure if the valuation of his personal holding differs from Ausbil's substantial stake in the data centre company.
The decision is creating internal reverberations at Ausbil, particularly around the valuation of its Firmus holdings. These holdings are spread across multiple funds but are predominantly held in the flagship Australian Active Equity Fund, managed by Xiradis. That fund is almost entirely composed of listed blue-chip companies, making the unlisted Firmus a notable outlier. Ausbil's September update highlighted Firmus as an overweight position, but its unlisted status complicates marking its value, which is critical to overall fund performance. The fund's product disclosure statement permits investments in "unlisted companies which are expected to be listed," a criterion Xiradis initially anticipated for Firmus.
Ausbil has also experienced recent personnel shifts. Small-cap specialist Tom Cutler departed for Ophir Asset Management, and portfolio manager Andrew Peros joined L1 Capital in August. Ausbil chief executive Mark Knight recently announced the complete closure of the $27 million long-short focus fund, which led to the departures of deputy head of equities Gian Pandit and co-portfolio manager Chris Smith, who is also Ausbil's head of research. Some in the fund management community speculate these movements are linked to internal discussions about Xiradis's Firmus investment and its disclosure, with queries reportedly reaching Ausbil's parent company, New York Life. These links remain unconfirmed in the source reporting.
The difficulty of accurately valuing Firmus shares remains a pressing topic among fund managers, and Xiradis faces heightened pressure if the valuation of his personal holding differs from Ausbil's substantial stake in the data centre company.
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