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(pictured: Louis Kuijs) The currency investment decision for super funds is the biggest and, arguably, most difficult they have to make. The Australian dollar has had the largest depreciation of any Asia Pacific currency since mid-2014, benefitting most big funds. In a new study, Oxford Economics predicts the future for Asian currencies. According to the paper…

(pictured: Adrian Banner) Portfolio rebalancing has long been recognised as a way to add long-term value and maintain or improve diversification. However, it has always been difficult to measure its impact. Now, a US-based quant manager has applied to patent its algorithm for better performance attribution. Enhanced Investment Technologies (known as INTECH outside of Australia), an…

(pictured: Damian Moloney)   Last week’s commentary on manager fees, questioning whether super funds realised the services they contract may be damaged as a result of the pressure, drew a good deal of response from both managers on the one hand and funds and consultants on the other. The two sides continue to line up in…

(pictured: Patrick Lemmens and Jeroen van Oerle)   To date it is the big banks which have invested most in the development of distributed ledger technologies, commonly known as ‘blockchain’. But uses other than streamlined payments are rapidly being explored. New research calmly examines the likely impact for all financial services players. The research, by investment…

(pictured: Chris Thompson)  BT Financial Group is to shift about $800 million in international alternatives assets to GMO, with the US hedge fund-of-funds manager Ramius understood to be the main loser, in a rejig of its $3.2 billion alternatives portfolios for retail investors. The move follows some significant personnel changes at BTFG, including the recent…

(pictured: Andy Sowerby) Takeovers, especially in financial services, usually fail to add value from the perspective of both the clients and shareholders of the acquiring company. Or the clients of the acquired company, for that matter. Usually it’s just the shareholders of the acquired company who do well. The important thing for the acquiring company’s shareholders…

(pictured: Ken Shaw)   After casting its net outside the securities servicing sector of the industry, including talking to fund managers, NAB Asset Servicing (NAS) has settled on one of its own kind for the new position of general manager sales. Ken Shaw, a former long-time business development manager at BNP Paribas Securities Services, who has…

(pictured: Will Kinlaw) Venture capital has not done well this year, according to the latest State Street private equity index, however the two other main categories in the private equity space – buyouts and private debt – have been in positive territory. Venture, due to its cyclical nature, remains a strong diversification mechanism, according to the…

(pictured: Maria Wilton)  Comment by Greg Bright Franklin Templeton Investments Australia has let go its two most senior institutional sales people in a cost-cutting exercise. This is becoming a phenomenon among big fund managers. Do super funds understand the ramifications of their drive to reduce manager fees? I’m not saying reducing costs for members and…

The Productivity Commission is likely to have a heavy focus on systemic dynamic efficiency in its forthcoming review – with fees and charges being a key element. Participants in the various market segments should take note of the hints in the recent draft report. The report “How to Assess the Competiveness and Efficiency of the Superannuation…