IAM appoints wealth veteran to head up new securities funds

Australian income investment specialist Income Asset Management (IAM) has appointed wealth industry veteran Tony Perkins to oversee its new range of income-generating securities products.

The newly launched asset-backed securities (ABS) and residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) product promises investors “direct access” to a predictable income-generating asset with attractive risk-return characteristics.

Investors, according to IAM, will benefit from higher yields compared to traditional fixed-income investments with a similar risk profile.

IAM’s ABS-RMBS offering boasts a range of features for investors, including the ability to select from various credit risk levels, return profiles, and monthly interest payments that align with individual investment goals.

The ABS and RMBS tap into a substantial pool of lending instruments, including auto loans, mortgages, trade receivables, and personal loans, totalling approximately $200 billion.

IAM notes that the ABS and RMBS markets are a major global funding mechanism for big four banks, second-tier banks, building societies and non-bank lenders, and are overseen by industry regulator APRA.

As IAM’s newly appointed head of structured and asset-backed securities, Perkins will lead the ABS-RMBS Direct initiative. 

Perkins boasts more than three decades’ experience in the wealth sector, specialising in structured finance, asset-backed securities, and debt capital markets. He most recently served as partner in corporate advisory at Prime Financial Group, and previously held senior leadership roles at UBS Investment Bank and Bluestone Home Loans.

Welcoming the firm’s latest senior recruit, IAM co-head of capital markets Kyle Lambert recognised “Perkins’ expertise in originating, structuring, and managing asset-backed securities will be instrumental in ensuring the success of IAM’s RMBS offering”.

Commenting on the launch of the new ABS-RMBS product, Lambert said investors in the fund will benefit from predictable income, receiving monthly interest payments and principal repayments over the life of the security.

For investors with a higher risk appetite, Perkins noted that yields in the fund range from a spread over the bank bill swap rate of 2.5 percentage points up to a spread of six percentage points.

“Over decades in Australia, even the highest yielding ABS and RMBS have virtually never lost investors a cent,” Perkins said.

The ABS-RMBS attracts a management fee of 0.35% a year, which IAM notes is considerably below other like funds with fees typically in the range of 0.50% to 0.90% a year.

IAM said its new securities funds will complement its existing suite of fixed-income products, including term deposits, investment grade bond funds, and ASX-listed fixed-income and senior secured institutional loans.