AMP Capital has become the latest buy-side group to transition to multi-asset trading to reduce costs and enhance risk oversight.
The group – which has some £90 billion in assets under management – is now seeking to expand its trading support team in Chicago and London and broaden the skillset of its traders globally.
In an interview with The Trade, Joe Kassel, global head of dealing and exposure management at AMP Capital, said the team is being shaped to meet client investment aspirations and the group’s growth strategy.
He explained: “That comes back to the up-tooling of our trading team in being able to trade across asset classes. A multi-asset dealing team is no longer a theoretical concept. It is the model of the future. We are resourcing that way accordingly.”
Kassel said the multi-asset approach is one of numerous initiatives the company is using to enhance investment decision-making.
He said: “In London and Chicago traders are multi-asset and in Sydney, where we are bigger, traders provide coverage for each other across asset classes. We are also hiring in both [non-Australian] offices for two trader assistant roles.
“A high-level decision by a multi-asset portfolio manager to rebalance between asset classes triggers a range of implementation activities conducted by the team.
“Having all levels of implementation co-ordinated by a single team not only leverages our capability to the fullest but critically reduces risk and transaction costs by providing clear line of sight of the investment intention at every stage.”
* This article is taken from a longer feature appearing in the forthcoming issue of The Trade Asia.