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(Pictured: Ian Dunbar) Ian Dunbar, the former head of investment platforms in the Platform Solutions Group at UBS, who left the firm last month, has started his own specialist consulting firm, FinDigital. Dunbar will be focusing on advice relating to disruption in the financial services sector from technological and other changes. He is chairing a session…

(Pictured: Michael Hunstad) With the increasing popularity of smart beta strategies, discussion among investors has moved beyond the underlying ‘factors’ – whether they are sustainable, for instance – to product design and implementation. Managers such as Northern Trust are now refining ‘pure factor’ exposures to avoid unintended consequences. Michael Hunstad, Northern Trust Investments’ head of quantitative…

(Pictured: Raewyn Williams) After-tax management and other benefits from using centralized portfolio management (CPM) have been given a shot in the arm with the publication of a paper on the topic by Towers Watson. CPM is one of those things – like optimising cash or reducing FX costs – which is often left in the to-do…

(Pictured: Jack Gray)  by Greg Bright The prevailing wisdom is that bigger is better for super funds, but combined research on the subject which tries to quantify benefits to members is inconclusive. A new research note analyses the conflicting elements of scale in a fund and illustrates how smaller funds can outperform, at least with…

(Pictured: Sam Sicilia) When Citi won its first industry fund securities servicing client, HostPlus, in 2013 that whole sector of the funds management industry sat up and took notice. According to Sam Sicilia, Host’s CIO, not many funds would have made the same decision. It was a bit of a gamble, he admits, but he is…

(Pictured: Dean Thomas)  AMP has recruited Dean Thomas, former general manager, retail wealth platforms, at NAB as its director of product, strategy and services, commencing today (January 19). The position was formerly held by Melinda Howes, who left last year to become general manager, superannuation, at BT Financial Group. Thomas, who also has experience in…

by Matthew Peter, Chief Economist, QIC The stylised traditional asset allocation model – with around 60 per cent of the portfolio devoted to growth assets dominated by listed equities and 40 per cent to defensive assets significantly weighted to government bonds  – has served investors well over many years notwithstanding bumps along the way. But no…

(Pictured: Sally Humphris) Sally Humphris, the former head of institutional sales at La Trobe Financial, has moved back into the recruitment industry, becoming a partner at the Dawson Partnership, a Sydney-based firm specialising in financial services recruitment. Humphris, who started her career in broking before moving across to asset management with Merril Lynch, had previously…

(Pictured: Peter Sipek) Peter Sipek, the former director of investment services and head of operations for AMP Capital, who left the organisation last August, has started a new role as implementation director at State Super. Sipek had been at AMP Capital for eight years, starting as head of investment operations, and his departure last year surprised…

(Pictured: David Kabiller) AQR Capital Management is to fund a new research institute for the asset management industry to be run by the London Business School. The partnership, which has a 10-year commitment from AQR, aims at advancing research and best practice in the industry globally. The US$122 billion quant-oriented equities firm, which was founded in…