London-based M&G Investments has opened two offices in Australia in a bid to meet growing client demand in the country.
The firm has appointed two of its senior employees to lead the roles down under. Based in Melbourne, Chris Andrews will be head of business development for Australia, whilst James MacKinnon will head the real estate team for the country based in Sydney.
After nearly a decade of doing business in Australia, opening these offices establishes an “on the ground presence” in the Australian market – one of the largest in the Asia Pacific region – the asset manager said.
According to the head of institutional fixed income, William Nicoll, there has been a growing demand from superannuation funds to diversify their portfolios through increasing allocations to international markets.
M&G’s Australian client base has traditionally sought advice from the firm on international public credit, and now there is significant interest in European debt and infrastructure, he said.
Both Andrews and MacKinnon have more than 30 years industry experience in their respective fields.
Andrews will focus on investment capabilities for institutional clients, whilst MacKinnon will lead M&G real estate business in Australia.
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