Infinity AM wins SMID fund mandate

Viridian Financial Group's Infinity Asset Management won a mandate to oversee a small to mid-capitalisation fund that was previously under the remit of Renaissance Asset Management.

Ironbark Asset Management appointed Infinity to manage the Ironbark Renaissance Australian Small Companies Fund on July 1.

Under the new manager, the fund was renamed to the Ironbark Infinity SMID Australian Equity Fund while the investment strategy has been rejigged.

Appointing Infinity "reflects a strategic repositioning of the fund to provide exposure to a broader Australian small and mid-capitalisation ('SMID') equities universe," Ironbark told investors.

"This repositioning expands the fund's opportunity set beyond small companies to include mid-cap securities, with the objective of supporting improved diversification and long-term growth potential for investors."

As responsible entity of the fund, Ironbark said it did not provide prior notice of this change because it "considered this to be in the best interests of investors, given the less liquid and price sensitive nature of small capitalisation securities and the risk of adverse market impact from advance disclosure."

The fund now has a new investment objective and benchmark - it aims to outperform the S&P/ASX Mid Small Cap Index over rolling three-year periods before fees.

Infinity, which has about $4 billion in assets, sits under Viridian's investment and wealth management division, Infinity Capital Solutions.

The Renaissance Smaller Companies is a fund manager that specialises in small caps listed on the ASX.

The old fund under Renaissance achieved 10.3% p.a. over a 10-year period versus the benchmark's 5.1% p.a. At the end of May, the top holdings included AUB Group, Macquarie Technology Group, Paladin Energy and PEXA Group. The fund had $66.5 million in assets at the time.

Ironbark recently consolidated its 15 businesses under a new single brand, Ironbark Financial Group.

The core brands are Ironbark Advice, Ironbark Private Wealth and Ironbark Investment Solutions.

Ironbark Asset Management sits under Ironbark Investment Solutions.