As big super funds insource more of their investment management they will probably be changing the way they think about their whole portfolio. A new research paper provides some interesting insights into the relationship between individual manager skill and total portfolio returns. The research, by implementation manager Parametric, goes to support the use of centralised portfolio…
Supervised Investments Australia, the family office style manager controlled by David Constable and Ken Cooper, is looking to widen its product offering and build its investment team, according to new chief executive, Michael Ohlsson. Speaking at an investor briefing in Sydney last week, at which Constable, Cooper and the firm’s chair Helen Coonan, the former…
Mirae Asset Global Investors has launched its India Sector Leaders strategy in Australia for institutional investors and is about to widen its reach for its Asia Sector Leaders fund with a unit trust offering. The firm’s third Australian product since it opened an office in Sydney in 2015 is a concentrated thematic strategy known as…
ESSSuper’s recently released member app, developed in association with CapitalRoad Financial, has delivered 3,000 downloads and “received very positive feedback”, according to James Holmes, the fund’s manager of member engagement. CapitalRoad is a Melbourne-based fintech developer and software-as-a-service provider who built the native iOS and Android application for mobile phone access to specific account information…
by John Kavanagh Australian institutional investors are moving on from addressing gender equality issues in their own organisations to asking the same questions of the investment managers they work with as well as the companies they invest in. The gender issue has been shifted up a notch from companies to fund managers. Heather Ridout, the…
by Greg Bright In what was, possibly, the best publicity stunt the investment industry has ever seen, State Street Global Advisors and its smart New York ad agency, McCann, last week sent a strong message to companies to get their gender balance in order. Wouldn’t you love to hire this brave young girl? OK, she…
by Matthew Lee AXA Investment Managers has launched a global equity strategy capitalising on companies which promote gender diversity along side responsible investing. The move comes as part of the growing global trend towards ESG, of which gender diversity is a key part. The strategy aims to generate long-term capital growth from companies that foster…
The proposed merger of Pengana Holdings and Hunter Hall International is good for Hunter Hall investors according to Geoff Wilson, who has been battling for small shareholders since the bizarre sale of a big part of his stake by founder Peter Hall over Christmas. If it progresses, which is considered likely, the merger should bring…
The finalists for the Chant West 2017 Super Fund Awards are being announced today. The awards – the industry’s most prestigious – span 12 categories, including Super and Pension Funds of the Year. They will be presented at a black-tie dinner at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom on May 24. The finalists for Super Fund of the…
One of Australia’s oldest and largest surviving corporate super funds, the Reserve Bank of Australia Officers’ Superannuation Fund, is to be folded next week into Sunsuper. The $1.3 billion fund, advised by Willis Towers Watson, will have its own sub-plan but will take on all the Sunsuper managers and other service providers. The fund is…
