Crispin Murray: How Omicron will impact Aussie equity investors | Pendal Group
Hi there! Welcome to the new look Pendal website... Take a two minute tour to see what we’ve changed.

Mainstream Online Web Portal

Investors can view their accounts online via a secure web portal. After registering, you can access your account balances, periodical statements, tax statements, transaction histories and distribution statements / details.
Advisers will also have access to view their clients’ accounts online via the secure web portal.

Crispin Murray: How Omicron will impact Aussie equity investors



Pendal’s head of equities Crispin Murray and his team have access to Omicron analysis from a variety of leading virologists and epidemiologists. Here are Crispin’s observations so far.

NEAR TERM, the emergence of Omicron is concerning because the sheer number of variations in the virus — notably the spike protein which the vaccines target — are very likely to render vaccines less effective in preventing the spread of the virus.

The Moderna CEO said as much in the Financial Times this week.

The transmissibility of Omicron is likely to be greater than previous variants, but it is still unclear to what extent.

Although the number of reported cases in South Africa has accelerated far faster than Delta, it’s unknown how long the variant was already seeded in the community or subject to super-spreading events.

The datasets are still too small to be more definitive.

We believe comments that Omicron may be less virulent — that it will lead to fewer hospitalisations — are premature.

Pendal Focus Australian Share Fund

Now rated at the highest level by Lonsec, Morningstar and Zenith

This view is based on observations in South Africa rather than data from a trial. It can be influenced by a variety of factors such as age and the number of previous infections a patient person has had.

Mitigating this uncertainty are a number of observations:

1.  Thanks to South African scientists we’ve identified this variant at an earlier phase than Delta. This limits the level of seeding in other countries, containing the spread and buying time for a scientific response

2.  While vaccines may no longer be as effective in stopping transmissibility, there is a reasonable expectation they will continue to be effective in lessening the effects of the virus through the response of B and T cells — which play an important role in our body’s Covid defence system

3.  The advent of anti-viral medicines should reduce the health consequences of those infected

4.  The impact of each subsequent wave has been less material on the economy as responses become more targeted and people become more attuned to the risks

5.  We are seeing accelerating economic momentum globally. This is different to what we saw when the Delta wave began to emerge in May and June.

Corporate responses to date have been along similar lines: they will wait until we have more data and a better understanding before taking any potential responses to the new variant.

What if current vaccines prove to be ineffective against Omicron?

The mRNA suppliers say they have already been working on new versions of the vaccine.

They indicate it could take 100 days to develop an Omicron vaccine — and about six months to become available at a mass level, subject to regulatory approvals.


About Crispin Murray and Pendal Focus Australian Share Fund

Crispin Murray is Pendal’s Head of Equities. He has more than 27 years of investment experience and leads one of the largest equities teams in Australia. Crispin’s Pendal Focus Australian Share Fund has beaten the benchmark in 12 years of its 16-year history (after fees), across a range of market conditions.

Pendal is an independent, global investment management business focused on delivering superior investment returns for our clients through active management. 

Find out more about Pendal Focus Australian Share Fund here.  

Contact a Pendal key account manager here.


This information has been prepared by Pendal Fund Services Limited (PFSL) ABN 13 161 249 332, AFSL No 431426 and is current as at December 1, 2021.

PFSL is the responsible entity and issuer of units in the Pendal Focus Australian Share Fund (Fund) ARSN: 113 232 812. A product disclosure statement (PDS) is available for the Fund and can be obtained by calling 1300 346 821 or visiting www.pendalgroup.com. The Target Market Determination (TMD) for the Fund is available at www.pendalgroup.com/ddo. You should obtain and consider the PDS and the TMD before deciding whether to acquire, continue to hold or dispose of units in the Fund.

An investment in the Fund or any of the funds referred to in this web page is subject to investment risk, including possible delays in repayment of withdrawal proceeds and loss of income and principal invested.

This information is for general purposes only, should not be considered as a comprehensive statement on any matter and should not be relied upon as such. It has been prepared without taking into account any recipient’s personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Because of this, recipients should, before acting on this information, consider its appropriateness having regard to their individual objectives, financial situation and needs. This information is not to be regarded as a securities recommendation.

The information may contain material provided by third parties, is given in good faith and has been derived from sources believed to be accurate as at its issue date. While such material is published with necessary permission, and while all reasonable care has been taken to ensure that the information is complete and correct, to the maximum extent permitted by law neither PFSL nor any company in the Pendal group accepts any responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of this information.

Performance figures are calculated in accordance with the Financial Services Council (FSC) standards. Performance data (post-fee) assumes reinvestment of distributions and is calculated using exit prices, net of management costs. Performance data (pre-fee) is calculated by adding back management costs to the post-fee performance. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Any projections are predictive only and should not be relied upon when making an investment decision or recommendation. Whilst we have used every effort to ensure that the assumptions on which the projections are based are reasonable, the projections may be based on incorrect assumptions or may not take into account known or unknown risks and uncertainties. The actual results may differ materially from these projections.

For more information, please call Customer Relations on 1300 346 821 8am to 6pm (Sydney time) or visit our website www.pendalgroup.com

Keep updated
Sign up to receive the latest news and views