A dynamic approach to portfolio management

Kieran Canavan (Centric Wealth) and Mark Carlile (J.P. Morgan) explain how they have solved one of the problems facing managed accounts — dynamic portfolio management in a timely way and at low cost.

For the first time, institutional-grade derivatives — with full attribution and governance separation — is available at scale within a managed accounts framework. In a project lasting three years, Specialised Private Capital (the legal and corporate entity that operates the Centric Wealth platform, including acting as fund manager and AFSL) has assembled the pieces that make this work — funds under management, partnership relationships, governance framework, and technology integration.

By his own admission, Kieran Canavan — Chief Investment Officer at Specialised Private Capital — says bringing all these pieces together was challenging. However, by doing so, it does now offer a meaningful template for how the next generation of managed accounts can be operated efficiently, cost-effectively, and with good governance.

In fact, it was this very project — the Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) project — which saw Specialised Private Capital (SPC) take out the Innovation Award at the 2026 IMAP Managed Account Awards.

In a session titled ‘Managing dynamic asset allocation: An award winning approach’ at the 2026 IMAP Independent Thought Conference, Kieran says the project, in collaboration with J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), was the result of “progressive mindsets and a shared commitment to solving complex institutional and investor problems”, which he believes sets a new benchmark for the industry.

By Jayson Forrest

The thinking behind the Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) project was to address the lack of institutional-grade implementation tools available to retail managed accounts, which institutional portfolios have access to.

Typically, in a retail environment, an investment committee’s decision must travel through the physical fund and assets trading across every underlying account. That process means tactical asset allocation decisions can take weeks to reach clients through physical fund switches, which is further burdened by transaction costs on every change.

As Kieran explains: “Every tactical move carried high costs for physical trades, buy/sell spreads and brokerage, which is borne by clients.”

Centric also recognised the tools that give institutional managers their precision — FX hedging, derivative overlays, the ability to express a specific view rather than a directional one — have not been available at retail scale.

Kieran says this lack of availability was a significant encumbrance to how retail managed accounts traditionally operate, particularly in relation to the time it took between investment committees

The investment team at SPC, working with JPAAM, was able to close the gap between retail and institutional by rebuilding the managed account mechanism itself. With the help of JPAAM, two purpose-built Australian unit trusts now sit inside SPC’s retail MDA structure, which directly provides the investment committee with institutional-grade implementation capability.

The Findex MDA trusts (managed by JPMAM) comprise of the Equity Trust (45 per cent Australian/55 per cent global, a multi-factor core, with the ability to put index futures and options over the top of that) and Fixed Income Trust (50 per cent Australian/50 per cent global, a research-enhanced core, with the ability to put bond futures and FX forwards over the top of the core).

As a result of this rebuild, reallocations that once took weeks, now reach every client account within 48 hours, and at a fraction of the previous cost. Kieran adds because implementation sits at the trust level, the investment committee can express a precise tactical view — whether a duration call, a sector tilt, or a currency hedge — without disturbing the manager panel or the client’s day-to-day portfolio.

Essentially, this framework means that tactical investment decisions are executed centrally at an overarching trust level, keeping the underlying roster of fund managers completely insulated from disruptive adjustments.

Tools like FX hedging and derivative overlays, which were once out of reach for retail managed accounts, are now standard tools in how SPC implements tactical views for advisers and their clients.

However, Kieran stresses that a rebuild like this requires scale and strong investment governance. “This type of solution requires more than A$1 billion in the fund structure to get the pricing right, as well as a high-quality investment committee that can make and execute decisions fast,” says Kieran.

Mark Carlile — Vice Chairman, Mergers and Acquisitions at J.P. Morgan — believes the success of the Tactical Asset Allocation project showcases what two firms can build together in an efficient, cost-effective, and well-governed way.

“JPMAM provides SPC with global reach and scale, which is important when putting together a project like this,” he says. “Scale gives the trusts dedicated technology and execution capability, embedded and independent risk functions, proprietary research feeding the core sleeves, and institutional pricing delivered to a retail MDA.”

Mark says this collaboration is a good reflection of what can happen when two progressive businesses bring their best thinking to a shared problem.

“Working alongside the team at SPC, we set out to address real limitations in how managed accounts operate in the Australian market — and the result showcases the breadth of capability JPMAM brings to this space, at both a local and global level,” he says.

“Initiatives like this demonstrate how global scale and local expertise can combine to solve problems for advisers, clients and advice firms alike. We see this as a new precedent for what's possible in the Australian managed accounts market, and one we’re proud to have built together with SPC.”

Kieran says the IMAP Award recognises the strength of collaboration between two organisations — Specialised Private Capital and J.P. Morgan Asset Management — which were willing to challenge how managed accounts have traditionally worked, and build something better.

“We were proud to work with JPMAM on this important initiative, and the result speaks to what’s possible when global capability and local expertise come together with a genuinely shared purpose,” says Kieran.

Kieran Canavan is Chief Investment Officer at Centric Wealth; and

Mark Carlile is Vice Chairman, Mergers and Acquisitions at J.P. Morgan.

They spoke on the topic ‘Managing dynamic asset allocation: An award winning approach’ at the 2026 IMAP Independent Thought Conference.