The U.S.-based investment firm has strengthened its Australian equities investment capability and client support with two Sydney-based appointments.
T. Rowe Price has hired Nick Vidale as an investment analyst, who will be responsible for identifying investment opportunities in the financial sector for the firm’s Australian investment team, the firm announced on Thursday.
Vidale brings 20 years of experience across the financials, industrials and consumer sectors in Australia and Asia. He joins from Perpetual, where he was a senior equities analyst. He was previously a portfolio manager at GLG Partners in Hong Kong covering Asian financials.
He reports to Ryan Martyn, the team’s head of research. The firm's investment team in Australia comprises seven investment professionals and has dedicated research coverage across various sectors of Australian equities.
New Role in Sydney
David de Ferranti, portfolio analyst, T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price has also hired David de Ferranti (pictured above) as a portfolio analyst in its Investment Specialist Group (ISG), a team within the investment division dedicated to handling the flow of information between clients and portfolio managers. He reports to Nick Beecroft, the firm's Hong Kong-based head of ISG, Asia Pacific.
De Ferranti joins from Pendal Investment Management. He will work alongside the firm’s local and global equity investment teams to provide Australian and New Zealand clients timely market and product insights, while allowing portfolio managers to focus on delivering performance, the announcement said.
Growing Presence
T. Rowe Price’s presence in Australia kicked off in 2004 and it has since grown the business with a focus on global equities. In addition to global strategies for institutional clients, the firm also has five unit trust funds targeting the retail segment. And moving forward, it is looking to further expand its client coverage and investment offering.
Earlier this year, the firm named Jonathan Ross as head of intermediary Australia and New Zealand, replacing Darren Hall, who was promoted to distribution head of the dual Australasian markets. Hall succeeded Murray Brewer, who retires at the end of 2020, after 14 years at the firm.
