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Northcape Capital Pty Ltd

About Northcape

Northcape Capital Pty Ltd (Northcape) is an independent, privately-owned investment manager dedicated to the management of equities. It’s majority-owned by its four founders, with a significant minority interest now also held by members of the small cap team.

Northcape believes value can be consistently added by taking advantage of short-term market inefficiencies through performing thorough bottom-up company research. Its multiple portfolio manager investment process allows freedom of investigation, analysis, valuation and judgement. Each portfolio manager runs a portfolio and also does company analysis. This differs from many managers who typically separate the research role from the portfolio management role.

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Funds managed

Key personnel - Large Cap

Stephen Gliddon, Portfolio Manager and Analyst

Stephen joined Northcape in 2005. He has 22 years investment experience gained from various roles in stockbroking, funds management and advisory firms dating back to 1986. He began his career as a stockbroking analyst at MacNab Clarke (now CS Equities Australia) and was highly rated in a number of industrial sectors. Stephen then joined NRMA Investment Management in 1991 as research manager, primarily responsible for the coverage of the resource sector. In 1995 he joined Zurich Investment Management as acting Head of Equities until leaving to join Merrill Lynch Investment Managers in 1998. At Merrill Lynch, Stephen was a portfolio manager, as well as a member of the management committee in Australia. Prior to joining Northcape, Stephen worked for 12 months at Capital Partners, a boutique advisory firm based in Sydney. At Northcape Stephen has responsibility for the gold, transport, utilities, oil, gas, metals and mining sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree for the University of NSW.

Rob Inglis, Portfolio Manager/Analyst

Rob joined Northcape in late 2004 after 25 years at AMP and has 29 years investment experience. Rob was a member of the Capital Team at AMP for over 10 years where he had research coverage across a range of sectors including REIT's, infrastructure, food & beverage and financial services. During this time he also established a team responsible for the management of listed property trust portfolios. Prior to his involvement in the Capital Team Rob was a member of the Top 100 Markets Team. From 1984 to 1990 Rob worked as a portfolio manager in the International Equities Team with responsibility for the Japanese share portfolio. He gained his initial experience in international markets in 1983 while on secondment with an investment bank and two stockbrokers in London. Rob started his career at AMP in 1979 as a trainee investment analyst. He holds a bachelor of Economics from University of Tasmania. At Northcape Rob has responsibility for the Chemicals, Paper, Food & Beverages and REIT's sectors.

Craig McCourtie, Portfolio Manager/Analyst

Craig Joined Northcape in January 2005 and has 22 years investment experience. Prior to this, Craig was Head of Australian Equities Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM), a position which included research coverage of stocks in the Media sector. Prior to joining CSAM, Craig was an Associate Director in the Asset Management Division of Macquarie Investment Services Limited, responsible for industrial stocks and managing listed property securities funds. Before joining Macquarie he worked in various portfolio management and investment analyst roles. He holds an Honours degree in Commerce from the University of Newcastle. At Northcape Craig has responsibility for the Building Materials, Media and Retail sectors.

Rob McWilliams, Managing Director/Portfolio Manager/Analyst

Rob joined Northcape in 2004 and has 18 years investment experience (plus over 25 years of business experience). Prior to this, Rob worked at Concord Capital from 2000 until mid-2003. At Concord, Rob had sector responsibility for developers and contractors, telecommunications, insurance, property trusts, healthcare and biotech. Prior to joining Concord, Rob was an Analyst/Portfolio Manager at Lend Lease Investment Management between 1997 and 2000. From 1990 and 1997, Rob was a stockbroking analyst at both Merrill Lynch Australia and James Capel. Before becoming an equities analyst, Rob had diverse experience including Chief Financial Officer roles for various businesses in South Africa prior to emigration to Australia. Rob qualified as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa, holds a High Diploma of Taxation from University of Witwatersrand and a Property Development Diploma from Cape Town University. At Northcape Rob has responsibility for the Healthcare & Biotechnology and various industry sectors.

Key Personnel - Small Cap

John Whiteman, Portfolio Manager/Analyst

John joined Northcape Capital in 2007 after having worked for AMP for 17 years. John joined AMP in 1990 and worked through the investment ranks to become Head of Capital Funds for AMP Capital Investors from April 2004 to October 2007. He held various senior portfolio management positions at AMP, including Head of Small Companies Funds from 1996 to 1999.

John successfully gained a broad range of analytical experience having covered most industrial sectors at some stage during his career. Prior to joining AMP, he started his financial services career in stockbroking in 1987 as a research analyst with Bernard Curran McHugh, and then BNZ North.

John holds a Bachelor of Business degree from Mitchell College – Bathurst (B Bus, ASIA)

Mike Cowin – Portfolio Manager/Analyst

Prior to becoming Portfolio Manager at Northcape, Mike worked for UBS between 1999 to mid 2004, holding the position of Head of Research and Deputy Portfolio Manager for the UBS Australian Share Fund, before holding the position of Portfolio Manager for the UBS Small Companies Fund from January 2003 until mid 2004. Mike’s time at UBS also included time in the inception and launch of the UBS Australian Small Companies Fund. During the set-up phase, Mike was heavily involved in the modelling of a significant number of stocks within the small ordinaries index.

Mike moved to AMP as Small Companies Portfolio Manager from mid 2004 until 2007, which provided him with the opportunity to retain his focus on smaller companies using his expertise to deliver strong performance. John Whiteman was Head of Capital Strategies at AMP during Mike Cowin’s tenure for the 3 ½ years prior to both of them joining Northcape.

Mike holds a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management and Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons).

Why Advance selected Northcape

We’re impressed with the quality and experience of Northcape’s investment team and we believe its structure provides a fertile foundation to bring out the best in its portfolio managers. We also believe the manager has a competitive advantage within Australian equities and a strong depth and breadth of coverage in the small cap universe. We favour the flexibility of Northcape’s individual portfolios and like that each portfolio has a preferred investment style and valuation methodology