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(pictured: Robert Abad) Most of the action in investments at the moment is in fixed income, believe it or not, as managers look to offer traditional bond-like risk/return characteristics in the most hostile environment for bonds in history. The way to go for investors is to take the constraints off their managers. Western Asset Management, the…

(pictured: Damian Moloney) Frontier Advisors, thanks to its US associate Segal Rogerscasey, has lifted its research capabilities and reach in the US market with the merger of Segal Rogerscasey and Marco Consulting Group. Frontier formed its ‘Global Investment Research Alliance’ in 2013, with Rogerscasey in the US and LCP in the UK the key members. Frontier…

(pictured: Paul Bouchey) With all the noise around factor investing and its various nom de plumes, such as smart beta and risk premia, the assumption always seems to be that it’s inherently efficient from a transactions perspective. Well, it’s not. In a paper published this month by Parametric Portfolio Associates, which is an after-tax and implementation…

(pictured: Jack Inglis) Hedge funds don’t rate highly in the court of public opinion, said Jack Inglis as he opened the annual AIMA Forum in Sydney. And their image is not helped by the media. But the truth about what hedge funds can deliver is far more nuanced than that. Inglis provided a warts-and-all look at…

(pictured: Jane Buchan) By Wouter Klijn* Female hedge fund managers are performing equally well as their male peers, but they find it harder to raise money. And the outlook is not good. Jane Buchan, chief executive and co-founder of the US funds-of-hedge funds firm PAAMCO, had always been sceptical about the claim that female fund managers…

(pictured: Amin Rajan) The drift to indexing in the US has accelerated over the last three years with passive products now representing a third of the managed fund market, the ‘Financial Times’ (FT) reported last week. According to the report, new figures supplied by Morningstar show passive funds have seen US market share grow from a…

(pictured: David Deverall) by Greg Bright NSW Treasury Corporation, the $70 billion investment fund managing the State’s largest pool of fiduciary money, has spilled several of its most senior positions, including that of CIO, and appointed a recruitment firm to advise on staffing under a proposed restructure. David Deverall, who became chief executive early this year…

(pictured: Tom Garcia)  The big topic of “capital stewardship”, as a kind-of overlay for responsible investing and ESG that have been embraced by super funds and other fiduciaries, was a key theme at last week’s AIST Australian Superannuation Investment annual conference in Cairns. Tom Garcia, AIST chief executive, said the 430 capped-attendance to what is…

(pictured: Michael Dwyer)  The two companies are for sale – one by the NSW Government and the other by its founder. They are engaged in a big tech-heavy project for a high-profile super fund. But the project has not gone to plan. Oh no, not again. The $55 billion First State Super has been advising…

(pictured: Steven Munchenberg) Steven Munchenberg, well-connected lobbyist and chief executive of the Australian Bankers Association, is not worried about Kate Carnell’s recently announced review into banking for small business. But continued talk of a royal commission into banking is a worry. He participated in a webinar last week organised by Stewart Oldfield of Field Research, a…