Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Home / 25

Greg Perry interview from 2002

The following extract was originally published in 2002, in Australian Business & Investment Explorer, titled “Greg Perry’s final farewell”, on the occasion of Greg’s retirement from Colonial First State. At the time, Colonial First State had been voted the Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year in three of the previous five years, and Greg was the doyen of Australian fund managers.

Chris Cuffe was Chief Executive Officer at Colonial First State over the 12 years to 2002. Chris and Greg turned a fledgling operation into the largest fund manager in Australia.

Graham Hand: Do you see a broader role for fund managers beyond maximising portfolio performance?

Greg Perry: I don’t think the market realises fully the role that fund managers play in allocating resources and building wealth. People seem to think we just play with money, but it’s a very serious role. I think there’s a responsibility on behalf of fund managers to understand that and to try to have some influence on business ethics. Sometimes we have made points to companies when we think something is unacceptable.

GH: Were those discussions one-on-one with management?

GP: Yes. We would say things like something is unacceptable, and although I don’t want to single anyone out, there is a greed factor that needs to be controlled. Too much regulation will stifle business, so it’s a fine mix. Many people got away with a lot of things in the late 1980s. Anyone who rorts the system will eventually be brought down. Things got better in the 1990s. Decent people who care about society generally do better in the long run.

Something I’m wary of is principal trading by brokers. There are meant to be Chinese Walls between the agency business and principal trading, but there is a conflict. They’re not working for us. I think principal trading in brokers is almost impossible to separate from advisory. One of the jobs of a principal trader is to know where the orders are – it’s a natural thing – so they find out anyway. We ask, “Who’s that?” and they say, “That’s our trader”. Then we ask, “Well, hang on a minute, who are you working for?”

GH: What do you do when you know a business is exploiting its customers, and you feel uncomfortable personally, but you expect the company to perform well in the short term?

GP: It’s difficult. We shied away from some companies we were uncomfortable with. If a company is rorting the system in some way, inevitably, that rorting is going to come to an end. With the banks, you can’t deny it, I think there’s a real sense of rort that has gone on in the last few years [Editor comment: note this was said in 2002]. They have a massive return on equity, although you can argue it’s good for the country to have strong banks. Mortgages were obviously an exploitation. Then the fees came in.

GH: That hasn’t stopped fund managers investing in them.

GP: No (he sighs). But we have done well to avoid the really poor performing companies and the corporate disasters. When in doubt, get out and keep out.

GH: First State now has so much market power that chief executives come to see you. Is that important?

GP: It probably helps. There were only one or two of us initially, and we tried to visit companies once a year. Now we might see a chief executive three times a year. They come and see us. It gives you an entry and insights, but you’ve got to be careful.

GH: You mean with insider trading?

GP: Yes, companies are much more mindful of that now. It’s more about seeing the thought process, where they are going and where they are taking the company. There might be angles and thoughts.

GH: But one of your roles as a fund manager is to research companies and learn as much as possible. If the company tells you things are going well and there’s a degree of enthusiasm, does that mean you’re not supposed to buy it?

GP: It’s a fine line. There’s a lot of insider trading that goes on because the market is not totally informed. But sometimes, you can hear one piece of information, and it’s the last bit of the jigsaw puzzle. Take Westpac. They told us about their use of the intranet and said they were making more savings on the intranet internally than on the internet externally. We knew their costs were coming down through the introduction of technology.

It’s not insider trading as such but something that clicks in your brain. Someone else may hear the same information and not use it, even if it was public knowledge. But if a company tells you profit is going up 50 per cent and the market thinks it’s 20 per cent, that’s insider trading, and we stay away from that.

GH: I guess it comes back to investing also having an element of art and not just research.

GP: Also, as you get older, you see the same stories being replicated. They say this business is hard. It’s not hard if you read, listen and learn and see what happened in the past.

 


 

Leave a Comment:


banner

Most viewed in recent weeks

Vale Graham Hand

It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.

The nuts and bolts of family trusts

There are well over 800,000 family trusts in Australia, controlling more than $3 trillion of assets. Here's a guide on whether a family trust may have a place in your individual investment strategy.

Welcome to Firstlinks Edition 583 with weekend update

Investing guru Howard Marks says he had two epiphanies while visiting Australia recently: the two major asset classes aren’t what you think they are, and one key decision matters above all else when building portfolios.

  • 24 October 2024

Warren Buffett is preparing for a bear market. Should you?

Berkshire Hathaway’s third quarter earnings update reveals Buffett is selling stocks and building record cash reserves. Here’s a look at his track record in calling market tops and whether you should follow his lead and dial down risk.

Preserving wealth through generations is hard

How have so many wealthy families through history managed to squander their fortunes? This looks at the lessons from these families and offers several solutions to making and keeping money over the long-term.

A big win for bank customers against scammers

A recent ruling from The Australian Financial Complaints Authority may herald a new era for financial scams. For the first time, a bank is being forced to reimburse a customer for the amount they were scammed.

Latest Updates

Shares

Looking beyond banks for dividend income

The Big Four banks have had an extraordinary run and it’s left income investors with a conundrum: to stick with them even though they now offer relatively low dividend yields and limited growth prospects or to look elsewhere.

Exchange traded products

AFIC on its record discount, passive investing and pricey stocks

A triple headwind has seen Australia's biggest LIC swing to a 10% discount and scuppered its relative performance. Management was bullish in an interview with Firstlinks, but is the discount ever likely to close?

Superannuation

Hidden fees are a super problem

Most Australians don’t realise they are being charged up to six different types of fees on their superannuation. These fees can be opaque and hard to compare across different funds and investment options.

Shares

ASX large cap outlook for 2025

Economic growth in Australia looks to have bottomed, which means it makes sense to selectively add to cyclical exposures on the ASX in addition to key thematics like decarbonisation and technological change.

Property

Taking advantage of the property cycle

Understanding the property cycle can be a useful tool to make informed decisions and stay focused on long-term goals. This looks at where we are in the commercial property cycle and the potential opportunities for investors.

Investment strategies

Is this bedrock of financial theory a mirage?

The concept of an 'equity risk premium' has driven asset allocation decisions for decades. A revamped study suggests it was a relatively short-lived phenomenon rather than the mainstay many thought.

Vale Graham Hand

It’s with heavy hearts that we announce Firstlinks’ co-founder and former Managing Editor, Graham Hand, has died aged 66. Graham was a legendary figure in the finance industry and here are three tributes to him.

Sponsors

Alliances

© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.