Platinum co-CIOs Andrew Clifford, Clay Smolinski step down, replaced by investment oversight group

Andrew Clifford and Clay Smolinski will step down as co-CIOs of Platinum Asset Management and be replaced by an investment oversight group.

Platinum Asset Management CEO Jeff Peters and portfolio manager Ted Alexander. Picture: Supplied

Andrew Clifford and Clay Smolinksi will step down as Platinum Asset Management’s co-chief investment officers, as the asset manager cements a governance structure which will leave it without a CIO in favour of a committee providing investment oversight and guidance.

Mr Clifford, who co-founded Platinum alongside Kerr Neilson in 1994 and was CEO of the firm from 2021 until 2024, will assume an investment mentorship role as a member of the fund’s investment oversight group, while Jim Simpson, a founder and ex-portfolio manager of Platinum who joined the board in late 2024, will chair the newly formed committee.

Mr Smolinksi, who ran the international fund alongside Mr Clifford, will take a six-month leave of absence.

Long-short global equity manager Ted Alexander will join the firm as portfolio manager of the flagship Platinum International Fund, as well as the fund’s global strategy.

“We’ve moved towards more of a governance group called the investment oversight group that will have Jim and Andrew on it, as well as myself and others. And we’re really going to provide the oversight and guidance for the investment area, rather than having it flowing through one individual or two individuals,” chief executive Jeff Peters told The Australian.

“We’re hoping Platinum International Fund will flourish, Asia will flourish etc, as independent teams sharing common research bases and ideas.”

Platinum co-founder Andrew Clifford will depart from his role as co-CIO. Picture: David Swift.

He said redemptions outside of the international fund had improved “pretty significantly”.

Mr Alexander, who was previously chief investment officer at BML funds and a portfolio manager at Magellan, said his investment strategy included looking for non-consensus ideas and making sure Platinum doesn’t “run with the herd”.

“Platinum is an extraordinary brand in Australian global funds management history, there’s this DNA that runs through it, and so we want to make sure there’s that strong continuity with the ideas we’ve had with Kerr and Andrew, as well as bringing in new energy, some new ideas,” he said.

“I’d really bring a focus on portfolio management technology and making sure that we’re running it according to where we think that the opportunities are in the market. It’s not really about me versus what they did before. It’s just about making sure we have best practice and we can really get great results for clients.”

Mr Alexander said he would look at increasing pharmaceuticals and healthcare holdings in the portfolio.

“Some that’s really non-consensus at the moment, and might balance out the portfolio a bit, but we’ll be reviewing every opportunity.”

Commenting on the changes, Mr Neilson, Platinum’s biggest shareholder, said: “The essential elements of performance are in place; determined investment leadership, a greater emphasis on the investment process and contemporary use of data, accompanied by the team’s traditional strength of deep company analysis.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Platinum posted a $15.9m net profit for the first half of the year, a 55 per cent plunge from the prior corresponding period, driven by the impact of continued outflows.

Funds under management fell to $11.1bn by the end of December, a 15 per cent decline from June 30.

The change in FUM over the six months was driven by net outflows of $2.5bn and positive investment returns of $589m during the half. Average FUM for the six months to 31 December 2024 was $12bn, 26 per cent down on the $16.2bn average for the previous corresponding half-year.

Despite the continued drop in FUM — it fell to $10.9bn last month — Mr Peters said there had been some progress on funds under management as the firm comes close to the end of the first year of a three-year turnaround plan.

“When I got here, and before the reorganisation we undertook in April, we had two of our eight funds achieving a cash plus objective, and one achieving beating benchmark. Now we’ve got six of eight funds beating their cash plus return objective, and I think three or four over benchmark.

“So we’re beginning to see progress. I’m not going to declare victory, there’s more work to do. Revitalising the international fund is job one.”

Morningstar analyst Shaun Ler said the investment team changes were “a more negative development than positive, creating instability concerns within the firm. For the time being, it’s still uncertain if this can reverse the firm’s fortunes”.