AMP Capital bolsters Australian equities capability with two hires

AMP Capital has strengthened its Australian equities team with two new appointments, with Geoff Wells joining as Senior Portfolio Manager and Peter Harris as Senior Resources Analyst. Both appointments expand the coverage of investment styles within the Australian equities team, led by Michael Price.

Geoff Wells will take on responsibility for managing the lower tracking error portfolios with exposure to the momentum and value styles as well as our proprietary Fundamentals at Risk (FaR) analysis. Mr Wells joins AMP Capital from Macquarie Investment Management and brings with him more than 15 years’ experience managing similar products. He was previously Head of Australian Equities at GMO Australia. Peter Harris will take prime responsibility for coverage of resource and resource-related sectors. Mr Harris’s previous roles include Chief Economist at Shell Australia, Head of Resources Research at JCP Investment Partners and sell-side Resources Analyst at CBA.

AMP Capital Global Equities and Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer Mark Beardow said these appointments further bolster AMP Capital’s global equities business following the appointment of a new Global Head of Equities, David Allen, announced in December 2015.

“I would like to welcome these very strong investment professionals to AMP Capital. Both Geoff and Peter bring with them many years of relevant experience and complementary investment styles to the team.

“I am also very pleased that David Allen, our new London-based Global Head of Equities, has now commenced his role in March. Our global equities business is crucial in achieving our 2020 goal of becoming a pre-eminent global fund manager, and is why we continue to invest in our fundamental equities capability to deliver the best investment outcomes to clients,” Mr Beardow added.

Both Mr Wells and Mr Harris commenced their new roles on Monday 4 April and report to Michael Price.

These new appointments bring the consolidated team to 13 investment professionals, covering fundamental, systematic and ESG investing strategies. The single team structure captures the expanse of specialised research and analysis conducted across the team, allowing all AMP Capital’s equities strategies to benefit from the breadth of perspective within the team. This research forms the base of AMP Capital’s proven portfolio construction investment process which aims to deliver an outstanding investment experience to clients.