AQR co-founder and CIO Cliff Asness talks to ISN about how social media might be making markets less efficient, the cloak and dagger world of alternative data, and why using machine learning means having to “let go of some things you cherish”.
The benchmarks that are supposed to measure performance and create alignment with end investors are working against asset managers, and the industry must find new ways to demonstrate value before it’s too late, according to MFS.
The $341 billion AustralianSuper has taken a significant stake in US-based DataBank to catch the AI and digitalisation waves that pension funds all around the world are trying to surf.
Historically, the unglamorous asset servicing businesses of the big international banks have largely stood in the shadows. But their reliable cashflows and deep institutional relationships mean that’s all starting to change.
A coalition of Australian and British pension funds representing A$3.25 trillion of workers’ retirement savings has called on the Starmer government to reform policy settings so they can tip more money into the energy transition in the UK.
BNP Paribas Securities Services has released its European road-tested ESG compliance tool in Australia and NZ amid a step-up in regulatory oversight of sustainable investment practices in the region.
Markets are expensive, driven by powerful forces which want to turn a 40 year bull market into the first ever 50 year one. That trend is not one to embrace, and standing in its way could put investors in dire straits, writes Jonathan Ruffer.
Megafunds are set to control trillions in member savings, but there’s still more questions than answers about the future direction and shape of the superannuation system.
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund’s prediction of a tough year for investors didn’t come to pass, but they’re not the only well-resourced manager that missed the mark. For investors, this period is a reminder that investment patterns may exist, but markets certainly aren’t beholden to them.
The Your Future, Your Super performance test is now redundant. The superannuation industry, and its regulators and policymakers, must figure out what comes next.
Varun Laijawalla from Ninety One shares insights with James Dunn from The Inside Network on what investors are suited to emerging markets.
Alex Lennard from Ruffer shares insights with Laurence Parker-Brown from The Inside Network on whether the previous strategies will continue well in a new regime.
Wenchang Ma from Ninety One shares insights with James Dunn from The Inside Network on any substitute for going out and meeting companies on the road.
Alison Shimada from Allspring Global Investments speaks to Giselle Roux from The Inside Network on responsible investing in EM.
Hostplus’ young demographics and the mandatory nature of superannuation means it gets “a free kick before every game”. But CIO Sam Sicilia says funds must keep questioning the assumptions that underpin the superannuation system and their relationship to it.
Australia’s largest homegrown asset consultant is plotting an expansion further beyond its traditional superannuation clients, while consolidation in the industry is changing the way they work.
The use of outsourced trading could be the “future state” for everything from massive sovereign wealth funds down to investment minnows, but lingering concerns about loss of control and connectivity are an obstacle to further uptake.
Global pension funds posted an atypical aggregate net below-benchmark annual investment performance during 2023, with the shortfall largely attributable to increased use of private markets assets.
