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(Pictured: Paul McNamara)  Currency movements over the past two years took the shine off emerging market bonds, but this is unlikely to continue, according to Paul McNamara, investment director of GAM International. As a provider of yield, emerging market bonds are in a better position in the world of sovereigns. “There were some big currency…

(Pictured: Iain Dunstan) While the past few years have basically been a nightmare for financial planners due to regulatory uncertainty compounding the yield-producing challenge facing a big proportion of their client base, perhaps dawn has broken. The latest study by Business Health in association with Rubik Financial, has some interesting findings. The study, involving a cross-section…

(Pictured: FionaTrafford-Walker) The three-firm global alliance for information sharing by Frontier Advisors has been expanded to include sharing information and views on business issues. The alliance is to be widened to include Asia and Japan, South America and, eventually, South Africa. Fiona Trafford-Walker, Frontier’s investment director, was in New York recently for what has become a…

(Pictured: James Shanahan) As a rapid adoptor of new technologies, James Shanahan of Avaloq Sourcing Asia Pacific believes, Australia is likely to become increasingly advanced in the interface between fund managers and clients. As such, Australia is a good environment for his firm’s business processing outsourcing expansion. Shanahan, the regional head of M&A for Avaloq, based…

(Pictured: Mark Tinker) AXA Framlington, the active management arm of AXA Investment Management, is building a team in Hong Kong to enable Asian equity funds to be run locally, from around the end of this year. Mark Tinker, who moved from London to Hong Kong with AXA in September 2013, said last week that Asia represented…

(Pictured: Al Clark) Nikko Asset Management will continue to fill out its suite of investment strategies for Australian investors this year, with the expected launch of several new funds, including a new multi-asset strategy later in the year. The senior investment professionals at the former Tyndall Australia are increasingly being leveraged internationally by Nikko, including the…

Hedge funds had their best year for inflows globally in 2014 since 2007 when the wheels started to fall off alternative investing as an asset grouping. But net redemptions in the month of December took the shine off the results. According to the latest quarterly hedge fund report from data provider eVestment, the total inflow…

(Pictured: Michael Armitage)  The largest US pension fund, CalPERS, turned its back on hedge funds in a much-publicised decision last year. Michael Armitage, of consulting firm Milliman, considers the implications for Australian investors. He says the decision by the largest US pension fund to scrap its $US4 billion hedge fund program should prompt Australians to…

(Pictured: Murray Brewer) T. Rowe Price has expanded its Australian business with the opening of an office in Melbourne, which will be staffed by David Frazer, who joined last year as institutional relationship manager, and Heath Branigan, as business development manager on the retail side. Branigan has been with T. Rowe Price for three years, concentrating…

(Pictured: Debbie Wilkes) Industry funds have a way to go to reach the probable new standard of one-third independents on their boards. Only 21 (11.0 per cent) of the 190 trustee directors of 20 of Australia’s largest industry funds are independent, according to a study by Industry Moves. UniSuper, HostPlus and MTAA, are the only funds…