Colonial First State
About Colonial First State
Colonial First State is one of Australia's leading wealth management groups, with more than $145 billion under management globally. Colonial First State provides investment, superannuation and retirement products to individuals as well as to corporate and superannuation fund investors.
Funds managed
- Australian Fixed Interest Multi-Blend (with other managers)
Key personnel
Mark Lazberger, Chief Executive Officer
As CEO of CFS GAM Mark oversees the performance and strategic direction of all funds managed by the business. He joined CFS GAM in September 2008. Prior to this, he was International President and Executive Vice President of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA). Before this Mark was Head of International Businesses, President and CEO of State Street Japan and Principal and Regional Managing Director of SSgA's businesses in Japan and Australia. He joined SSgA in early 1993 after spending two years with State Street Corporation's treasury area.
Warren Bird, Co-head of Global Fixed Interest and Credit
Warren is jointly responsible for the overall management of the Global Fixed Interest and Credit team and process. This 30 member team, which has people located in both Sydney and Hong Kong, manages around A$25 billion for Australian and international investors. It also provides credit support for a total of A$60 billion in cash, fixed interest and credit.
Warren’s principal focus is the oversight of strategic processes, in particular duration management and sector allocation in both domestic and global markets. He is the portfolio manager for the Colonial First State Diversified Fixed Interest fund. He joined the business in February 1997 as Head of Fixed Interest for First State Fund Managers.
Tony Adams, Co-head of Global Fixed Interest and Credit
Tony is also jointly responsible for the overall management of the Global Fixed Interest and Credit team and process. The 30 member team, which has people located in both Sydney and Hong Kong, manages around A$25 billion for Australian and international investors. It provides credit support for a total of A$60 billion in cash, fixed interest and credit.
Tony’s principal focus is the oversight of the portfolio construction process, as it applies to all the fixed interest portfolios and mandates. He has direct charge of the credit focused portfolios, where the management of credit risk as opposed to duration risk, is the main source of return. He has also played a significant role in the support and development of CFS GAM’s Asian fixed interest and credit business.
Why Advance selected Colonial First State
CFS GAM’s investment decisions are process-driven, well-defined and well-tested. It uses derivatives to manage the duration exposure of the portfolio, which allows the manager to focus on security selection separate to duration decisions that take advantage of the interest rate cycle. We like CFS’s disciplined approach to corporate debt investment, which controls risk through careful selection and monitoring combined with broad diversification. The increased credit risk of corporate debt means these investments have the potential to deliver higher returns over the medium term compared to government bonds.
