Key Takeaways
- • Capital Fund Management (CFM) appointed Craig Stanford to the newly created role of Director, Investor Relations for Australia, based in Sydney and reporting to Steve Shepherd, Head of Asia-Pacific.
- • CFM Australia currently has over US$9.7 billion in funds under management, according to the firm's announcement.
- • The appointment follows CFM's establishment of a permanent Sydney office in late 2018 to service its growing institutional business in Australia.
- • Stanford will target institutional investors, wholesale investors, financial advisers and platforms, while demand is also growing from wealth management and dealer groups and family offices.
Summary
Global alternative beta manager Capital Fund Management (CFM) has appointed Craig Stanford to the newly created role of Director, Investor Relations for Australia. Stanford is based in Sydney and reports to Steve Shepherd, Head of Asia-Pacific at CFM. He brings more than 20 years of investment management experience, including time at asset managers in London such as ABN Amro, and most recently served as Head of Alternative Investments at Morningstar in Sydney.
The appointment follows the establishment of a local permanent office in Sydney in late 2018, which CFM opened to service its expanding institutional business in Australia. Stanford will be responsible for growing the Australian business with institutional investors and wholesale investors, including financial advisers and platforms. He will work alongside Shepherd and Mark Yetman, who joined CFM as Director of Investor Relations the previous year. According to the firm, CFM Australia currently manages over US$9.7 billion, and demand is also rising from wealth management and dealer groups as well as family offices. CFM's funds are already available on many major platforms.
Shepherd described the investor relations role as crucial to CFM's continued expansion in Australia, saying the firm needed someone with strong local relationships and the ability to translate highly technical, scientific strategies into tangible themes. He noted Stanford's experience with institutional investors in Australia, the UK and South Africa. Stanford said CFM had built a strong presence in Australia before opening its permanent office and was highly regarded by existing investors, and that the Sydney base allows the team to show investors how alternative beta can fit within their portfolios.
Stanford cited CFM's track record dating back to 1991 and its academic, long-term approach to investing as reasons he was drawn to the firm, noting he had first invested with CFM over a decade earlier. Shepherd emphasized the portfolio diversification benefits of alternative beta strategies, particularly in volatile markets, and said the firm is pleased to offer them to a broader group of investors.
The appointment follows the establishment of a local permanent office in Sydney in late 2018, which CFM opened to service its expanding institutional business in Australia. Stanford will be responsible for growing the Australian business with institutional investors and wholesale investors, including financial advisers and platforms. He will work alongside Shepherd and Mark Yetman, who joined CFM as Director of Investor Relations the previous year. According to the firm, CFM Australia currently manages over US$9.7 billion, and demand is also rising from wealth management and dealer groups as well as family offices. CFM's funds are already available on many major platforms.
Shepherd described the investor relations role as crucial to CFM's continued expansion in Australia, saying the firm needed someone with strong local relationships and the ability to translate highly technical, scientific strategies into tangible themes. He noted Stanford's experience with institutional investors in Australia, the UK and South Africa. Stanford said CFM had built a strong presence in Australia before opening its permanent office and was highly regarded by existing investors, and that the Sydney base allows the team to show investors how alternative beta can fit within their portfolios.
Stanford cited CFM's track record dating back to 1991 and its academic, long-term approach to investing as reasons he was drawn to the firm, noting he had first invested with CFM over a decade earlier. Shepherd emphasized the portfolio diversification benefits of alternative beta strategies, particularly in volatile markets, and said the firm is pleased to offer them to a broader group of investors.
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