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(pictured: Michael Gordon) by Michael Gordon* Much has been written on these pages in recent weeks on the issue of fund manager fees. The argument is not new and is typically partisan. However, in 30 years in the business I’ve never seen fee pressure so extreme. Fees right across the traditional asset management agency chain have…

(pictured: Christian Stracke and Tom Collier)  Making money from the new challenges facing big banks should warm the cockles of any investor’s heart. PIMCO shows how in a paper titled ‘Disruptive Regulation – A Secular Investment Opportunity’. The paper, written by Christian Stracke, PIMCO’s global head of credit research, and Tom Collier, product manager alternative…

(pictured: Daniel Kieser) ASIC has given the NZ firm Shareclarity the tick of approval under its new fintech fast-track licensing process. Shareclarity aims to tap into SMSF investor demand for ASX and NZX company research from various sources. Daniel Kieser, Shareclarity founder, said with its newly-minted Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) the company was well-placed to…

(pictured: Alan Bettridge) FactSet, a global investment information company, has opened a Melbourne office to complement its Sydney presence. The new office houses 12 people with plans to expand in the short term. It is managed by sales manager Stefano Lee. The staff consist of client service people and consultants, which the company says will give…

(pictured: John McMurtrie) The Link Group maiden full year result as a listed company did not disappoint. Perhaps the biggest surprise was how well Link has integrated the formerly troubled SuperPartners with its own super admin system. Administration, once the poor cousin to fund managers and banks in the service provider space, has a bright new…

(pictured: Matt Vaughan)  Here’s an irony. Link Group last month held a ‘virtual AGM’ for its NZ share registry client Xero. Just over 80 per cent of shareholders ‘attended’ online. But Link is not allowed to do the same for its Australian clients, nor itself. Xero, the successful cloud-based accounting systems firm from Wellington, NZ,…

New Zealand Superannuation Fund has carved out NZ$600 million from its NZ$4.9 billion passive global equities mandate with Northern Trust Asset Management for two new factor-based mandates with the same manager. The NZ$30 billion fund, which is seen as a bellwether among super funds in the region because of its transparency and innovative investment strategies…

(pictured: Michael Thawley) Michael Thawley, Australia’s former and highly rated ambassador to the US, has re-joined the funds management industry – and his old firm – taking up the role as senior vice president for Capital Strategy Research at the big equities shop Capital Group. Thawley, who started in the job last week, is based in…

(pictured: Dori Levanoni)  Whenever the US dollar spikes up or down investors around the world suddenly get interested in their currency exposures. Currency, it seems, is an after-thought asset class which happens to be, often, the first or second-biggest influencer of investment returns. That interest has been piqued right now. Dori Levanoni, a partner, investments,…

(pictured: Jeff Bresnahan)  David O’Sullivan has set himself a high bar to beat in his upcoming role as CIO of BUSSQ, the Queensland building industry fund. BUSSQ was the top-performing super fund over the past 12 months. O’Sullivan, who has been both chief executive and CIO of BUSSQ for the past 11 years, is set…