Bellwether appoints Investment Committee Chair

• June 30 2006
  
  Bellwether Partners has appointed former VFMC CEO Stephen Taylor as non-executive Chairman of our internal Investment Committee.
  
  The role of Chairman of the Investment Committee was introduced to provide an independent compliance measure, ensuring that portfolios are managed in strict accordance with our Investment methodology and philosophy. The Bellwether Partners Investment Committee meets monthly and involves a review of strategy and stock selection as well as risk adjustment and approval.
  
  Stephen Taylor was CEO of VFMC from 1998 to 2004, growing FUM from $8b to $26b during his tenure. Prior to this he was held a number of roles at JP Morgan Investment Management Australia from 1980 to 1997, culminating in his appointment as Managing Director from 1993-1997.
  
  Outside of his involvement with Bellwether, Taylor holds several company directorships and provides research consultancy as a member of Capital Research Services.
  
  “Bellwether have spent considerable time and effort setting themselves up as a high quality investment manager and I am delighted to be on board with them as they enter an exciting period of growth” Taylor said.
  
  Published in the Financial Standard Online 30 June 2006
  Read Article

Changes to Performance Reporting

• April 7 2006
  
  The appointment of Ross Bird as Head of Research means that we now have the capability to provide more detail in our performance reporting.
  
  The following changes have been made to the Australian Share Fund report, effective for the period ending March 2006:

• Expanded monthly review and outlook
• Condensed position commentary; the 6 most significant positions within the portfolio are examined with reference to our investment decisions
• Removal of the Net comparative performance. The Unit Price should be referred to calculate absolute performance net of fees.
  
  Please contact Bellwether should you have any queries regarding these changes.

Bellwether featured in Financial Review

• March 22 2006
  
  On Wednesday 22 March the Australian Financial Review published a substantial article on Bellwether featuring comments by both Bruce Bell and Colin Papcun. The article articulated some of our opinions on the current market climate and portfolio holdings as well as examining our investment process.
  
  As a new fund manager this type of exposure is invaluable in building recognition of the Bellwether name and supports our efforts to grow funds under management.

Money Management Publishes Bruce Bell's views on the future of Boutiques

• March 16 2006
  
  February 2006 saw the financial media running stories suggesting the 'glory days' of Boutique investment managers were over and that the larger corporate managers were set to again dominate the market.
  
  Managing Director of Bellwether Bruce Bell feels strongly that the Boutique model represents the future of funds management, in a climate where an increasingly sophisticated market has generated a greater demand for specialised products.
  
  Click on the link to read Bruce's opinion on the future of boutiques, as published in the March 16 edition of Money Management.

Bellwether Appoints Head of Research

• March 8 2006
  
  Ross Bird today joins the Bellwether Team as Head of Research.
  
  Ross has come to Bellwether from Lonsec Ltd (formerly Lonsdale Securities) where he was a model portfolio manager and resource analyst.
  
  Bellwether managing director Bruce Bell says Ross's background as a resource analyst is a perfect fit for Bellwether, complementing our existing strength in other financial market sectors.
  
  Ross has also held positions as a resource analyst at Australian Equity Research and National Mutual Funds Management (now AXA). Ross's appointment has been covered in the financial media including the Financial Standard and Investor Weekly.
  

Bellwether builds media profile

• January 24 2006
  
  The Bellwether name is becoming more visible in the fund manager universe due to our recent media coverage, undoubtably buoyed by the outstanding and consistent outperformance of the flagship Australian Share Fund.
  
  Bruce Bell was asked to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the boutique fund management model in the Money supplement of The Age Melbourne newspaper. Download the full article by clicking on the link below.