Vanguard has gazumped MSCI and FTSE/Russell by moving to directly include China A shares in its emerging markets ETF products and strategies. The two index companies vacillated in their latest deliberations. The news from Vanguard, which is not known for aggressive marketing positions with new products or strategies, offers nimble investors a prime opportunity to…
Matthew Chan A study commissioned by DTCC (the industry-owned Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation) has provided an interim report card on progress with the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect cross-border investment reform. It suggests there are still several hurdles to overcome. The study, by independent researcher Celent, says that while Stock Connect has paved way for…
Jerome Lander Jerome Lander, the former CIO of NSW WorkCover and a former Russell Investments consultant, has been appointed to the investment committee of Dynamic Asset Consulting, a firm associated with financial planning group WLM Financial Services. Lander joins Lukasz de Pourbaix, general manager of Lonsec Investment Consulting, as another independent on the Dynamic Asset…
John Hamer John Hamer, an experienced marketer, has returned to the funds management industry after four years in financial services media. He has taken an institutional business development role at the established boutique manager Private Portfolio Managers (PPM). Hamer was most recently the head of business at Investor Strategy News (ISN) and prior to that…
Raewyn Williams Super funds need to review their priorities as the window for tax-free change and restructuring is coming to an end, writes Raewyn Williams, the director of research and after-tax solutions at Parametric Australia. The Australian superannuation pool has crossed $2 trillion in assets under management, making this sector a mega taxable investor base….
Philip Brittan by Patrick Liddy* Paul Julius Reuter founded the company that still bears his name in London in 1851 as a business transmitting stock market quotations and news. Reuter had set up his “Submarine Telegraph” office and negotiated a contract with the London Stock Exchange to provide stock prices from the continental exchanges in…
Tim Mitchell New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZS) veteran, Tim Mitchell, has resigned after more than a decade in various senior roles at the organisation. Mitchell moved to his most-recent strategic advice position earlier this year following a stint as head of NZ active equities for the NZ$33 billion fund. As well as consulting on the…
Joe Antonellis and Colin Brooks Two big names in global custody are moving on, it was announced last week – State Street’s Joe Antonellis, who is to retire later this year, and HSBC’s global sub-custody boss, Colin Brooks, who has left the bank. Antonellis, 60, is currently the group’s vice chair and head of global…
Robert Morgan Northern Trust Asset Management has hived off its alternatives division into a new company, 50 South Capital, which will give the alternatives managers more autonomy within the group while protecting the parent bank from direct investments in some trading activities. For Australian and New Zealand investors, though, the upshot may be that, with…
Stephen Rowbottom AUSCOAL Super, which from next month will be known by the thoroughly modern name of ‘Mine Wealth + Wellbeing’, has reappointed JP Morgan after a custody services review, following news that VicSuper has also reappointed its custodian, NAB Asset Servicing. Not all reviews of custody services result in a change of provider, but…
