Curiosity has a new name

From 22 September 2020, First Sentier Investors will operate worldwide under a unified brand.

The new brand concludes one of many programmes of work underway to establish it as a standalone business following its transition in ownership to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. in August last year.

At that time, we decided to progress towards a single corporate global brand name in all markets.

Since September 2019, we have been operating as First Sentier Investors in Australia.

For 12 months, we operated as First Sentier Investors in Australia while continuing to operate as First State Investments across all other global markets. While the current macro-economic environment is challenging for almost every business around the world, this change is ultimately a change in brand name only, with no absolutely no impact on our business, our clients or how we manage client assets.

A unified single brand will simplify our brand experiences for both employees and clients and will allow us to fully leverage market opportunities ahead.

When choosing a brand name, there were a number of considerations.

• We wanted a brand name that reflected core attributes of our personality and business philosophy
• We wanted a brand name that had a brand name that reflects our heritage and ongoing purpose
• We wanted a brand name that provided a smooth transition from First State Investments
• We needed a brand name that was available for trademark in all jurisdictions in which we operate
• We are required to transition to get-up / livery / logo design that is not similar to our current design

First Sentier Investors met all the above criteria.

The name First Sentier Investors reflects our heritage and ongoing purpose. ‘First’ references our strong and successful heritage as First State Investments, while the word ‘Sentier’ means path - which reflects our commitment to creating our own way forward, and investing responsibly over the long term for the benefit of our clients and the communities in which we invest.

First Sentier Investors also abbreviates to FSI which provides a smooth transition from our current abbreviation.

First Sentier Investors is a stand-alone asset management business and the home of investment teams Stewart Investors and FSSA Investment Managers. There is no change to the branding of these investment teams, or to the way these teams manage client assets.

As part of this global re-brand, we have transitioned fund names to align with the new brand.  See attached appendix for full list of fund name changes

Yes. Advertising is important to support brand awareness and recognition.  We will be promoting our brand name change through an advertising campaign in our major markets, across broadsheet and target trade publications.

The logo is a stylised F symbol in recognition of the word First and the important legacy of the First State business.

We don’t think so. The new visual identity creates a more, modern and unified look for the new global brand and its distinctive look will support ongoing brand awareness.

Yes.  Our website address is www.firstsentierinvestors .com. All previous URLs will be redirected to the new address to avoid client confusion.

We currently have no plans to move offices or change our geographic locations.  Our existing offices have been re-branded to First Sentier Investors. 

All documentation will be rebranded on, and from September 22, 2020.

All documentation will be rebranded on, and from September 22, 2020.

No.  There will be no change to our investment teams or the way these teams manage our client assets. This is a brand name change only to allow us the benefit of operating as a unified global business.

All our investment teams – whether in-house or individually branded – operate with discrete investment autonomy, according to their investment philosophies. 

No. This is a brand name change only. There will be no change to our investment teams or the way our funds are managed or administered.

Given the corporate brand name change, and the brand change of some First State funds to FSSA branded funds, we partnered with all relevant platform providers to facilitate a smooth transition and ensure our funds are easily found and identifiable on relevant fund platforms. In addition, as First Sentier Investors is both a home of investment teams and a stand-alone asset management business, it was important this was clearly communicated within platform listings.

From September 22, we have requested all platforms to have three separate brand name listings for the three fund brands - First Sentier Investors, FSSA Investment Managers, and Stewart Investors – while maintaining the link to First Sentier Investors.  Therefore, the respective fund ranges will be listed under: First Sentier Investors; FSSA IM (First Sentier Investors); and Stewart Investors (First Sentier Investors) across both our OEIC and VCC structures.

Yes.  These funds have always been managed by FSSA Investment Managers and therefore, during this time of brand change, it made sense to adopt a consistent approach and provide appropriate clarity across our fund range.

First Sentier Investors is a stand-alone asset management business and the home of investment teams Stewart Investors, FSSA Investment Managers and Realindex.  There is no change to the branding of these investment teams, or to the way they manage client assets.

First Sentier Investors is a stand-alone asset management business and the home of investment teams Stewart Investors, FSSA Investment Managers and Realindex.  There is no change to the branding of these investment teams, or to the way they manage client assets.

By way of background, First State Stewart Asia was established as an investment team in 2015 when the former First State Stewart team was separated into two teams (First State Stewart Asia and Stewart Investors). In July 2019, this investment team was formally rebranded to FSSA Investment Managers.

The current macro-economic environment is challenging for almost every business around the world – and undoubtedly COVID-19 has been the over-riding priority for our management team and our employees for much of 2020. That being said, this change is a change in brand name only, with absolutely no impact on our business, our clients or how we manage client assets. Operating under a unified single brand will simplify our brand experiences for both employees and clients and allow us to fully leverage the market opportunities ahead and as we re-emerge from this period.

Like any growth business, we are always assessing selective opportunities that support the healthy expansion of our business where and when opportunities make sense.

Like any growth business, we are always assessing opportunities that support the sensible expansion of our business where and when opportunities make sense.  However, we are currently focused on, and supporting the organic growth of our business and are excited by the opportunities that lie ahead under a unified global