Big sovereign and public sector funds globally have skewed their investments to their domestic markets since the outbreak of covid-19, according to a report by Global SWF. However, the two Australasian sovereign funds, Future Fund and New Zealand Superannuation Fund, have stayed the course with their investment strategies, according to spokespeople for those organisations. The…
When Nicole Kennedy left school in 2003, she decided to delay studying psychology or sociology at university for a time and got a job instead. Her version of a gap year turned into a career in super. She finds herself, 18 years later, almost five years into the role of head of operational delivery at…
Fund managers show a keen willingness to embrace data science and systems such as centralised data platforms for decision making when it comes to formal surveys. But the reality is still something different. According to a survey of 300 global asset management firms sponsored by the asset servicing arm of Northern Trust, nearly half (48…
Bryan Gray, who retired from full-time work this year after a distinguished career in asset servicing, has taken on a role as ‘brand ambassador’ at Goal Group in Australia. The new part-time role involves working with Goal’s clients and prospects on their use of the firm’s technology services behind class action monitoring, filing and recoveries…
Gold has intrigued investors for almost as long as its existence, first as a store of wealth and currency and now as, well, what? Frontier, has taken a look at gold’s worth to professional investors. And it’s not about an inflation hedge. Frontier’s Chris Trevillyan, director of investment strategy, and Nicholas Thomas, senior consultant, have…
In the beginning was the word and the word was ‘ethical’. Now we have lots of words: ‘responsible’, ‘sustainable’, ‘stewardship’, ‘environmental’, ‘social’ and ‘governance’. And perhaps a new word: ‘singularity’. The Singularity Group is a Zurich-based global investment boutique and research firm which uses quantitative techniques to seek out companies which have sustainable innovation as…
The Government’s ‘Retirement Income Covenant’ is off to a shaky start following initial reactions to its position paper. There is a complete absence of detail for super funds to ponder. While welcoming the Government’s move on the subject and the aim for resulting legislation to be non-prescriptive in nature, three influential and apolitical organisations have…
The recovery of inflows into equity and other growth-orientated managed funds which started towards the end of last year has faltered, with the second-consecutive quarter of slower growth. According to the latest figures from Calastone, the global funds data network, net inflows for both Australian equities and Australian-domiciled global equities funds were, together, down about…
Exogenous factors, such as wars, can and do impact markets but rarely do we get to see a medical crisis play out quite like this. It is science versus the unknown. At a briefing featuring three of its managers last week (July 21), distributor and multi-affiliate manager GSFM provided a snapshot of how the managers…
A key and enduring theme of the work of the Australian Custodial Services Association is the search for ever-greater efficiency in financial markets. Custodians need always be prepared for the next ‘Uber moment’. The latest such moment came in February last year when Magellan Financial Group launched the first quoted managed fund, on behalf of…
