Contango Asset Management
About Contango Asset Management
Contango Asset Management (Contango) is a boutique Australian equity manager that was established in 1998. In addition to core Australian equities, the company manages a range of specialist funds, including small cap and microcap Australian equity products.
Funds managed
- Australian Shares Multi-Blend Fund (with other managers)
- Australian Smaller Companies Multi-Blend Fund (with other managers)
Key personnel
David Stevens, Managing Director
David is Chairman of Contango MicroCap Limited and a Director of Contango Capital Partners Limited. He has worked in the investment industry for over 25 years. His roles have included Investment Analyst, Portfolio Manager, Senior Portfolio Manager, Investment Director, Chief Investment Officer, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.
David has been licensed as an Investment Manager in Australia, the UK and the United States. Prior to launching Contango with Stephen Babidge, David was Chief Investment Officer from 1990 and Chief Executive Officer from 1992 of HSBC Asset Management. Previously, David also worked with Australian Eagle Insurance Co Wardley Marine International Investment and Hudson Conway Limited.
Stephen Babidge, Chief Investment Officer
Stephen is a Director Capital Partners Limited. He has worked in the funds management, investment banking and chartered accounting fields for over 25 years. His roles included Audit Supervisor, Manager - Corporate Services, Senior Investment Manager, Head of Equities, Chief Investment Officer and Executive Director.
Stephen is a member of both the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Prior to launching Contango with David Stevens in 1998, Stephen was Head of Equities from 1990 and the Chief Investment Officer from 1995 at HSBC Asset Management. Previously, Stephen worked with Coopers & Lybrand in Adelaide and ANZ Capital Markets in Melbourne.
Why Advance selected Contango
We selected Contango as a thematic manager because we favour its ability to add value from top-down macroeconomic themes, as well as in depth stock analysis. Contango cover the breadth of the market, investing across large cap, small cap and micro caps. This top- down approach to the selection of favoured sectors is one of Contango’s most distinguishing factors, as it enables the manager to more appropriately price stock opportunities based on current conditions. Contango also has a very experienced team, complementing this qualitative top-down process.
