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The Centre for International Finance and Regulation is to fund individual research based on any of the 44 proposals presented last week in the final report of the Financial System Inquiry. The organisation has called for applications by February 13 – ahead of the March deadline for industry responses to the inquiry. CIFR said academics from…

Kent Wilkes, Director, Fixed Interest and Inflation, QIC The ‘Happy Season’ is not usually associated with bargains. Quite the opposite. Spending up is the norm and indulging is portrayed as a virtue.  There are, however, investment bargains to be had for those willing to look beyond the headlines. Global inflation protection, for instance, is now on…

by Steve Engdahl* Asset managers have tackled pricing issues for years. But what they haven’t faced – until now – is a minefield of thinly-traded markets and unprecedented regulatory scrutiny. While the subject of pricing isn’t new, it has never been more explosive – and the old way of running processes is being put to…

Macquarie Bank, AMP Capital and Colonial First State have the most potential to benefit from China granting Australia’s first RQFII quota last month, following the deal between the ASX and Bank of China which will allow RMB-denominated investments. China funds management industry researcher Z-Ben Advisors has analysed the new landscape. In a report to clients…

(Pictured: Steve Tucker) When Steve Tucker ran MLC he fought the good fight for transparency on fees and fee-for-service advice, with a certain amount of success. Now, with the launch today of the new dealer group of which he is chair, Koda Capital, he gets to oversee a firm which is able to adhere to…

(Pictured: David Murray) comment by Greg Bright There were few, if any, surprises in the report of the Financial System Inquiry. Increased capital requirements for banks, a tad more regulation, some new regulatory bodies to oversee it, slightly sharper oversight and transparency in the planning world, a return to stricter gearing rules for super funds and…

(Pictured: Dragana Timotijevic) Select Investment Partners, which recently became a subsidiary of OneVue, has recruited experienced investment consultant Dragana Timotijevic as head of research. Timotijevic, who has for the past two years been doing contract work at the Australian Catholics super fund in Sydney and van Eyk Research, was previously a principal and global head of…

(Pictured: Nicholas Allen) The Australian country head of multi-affiliate manager Eaton Vance, Nicholas Allen, will return to his advisory and third-party marketing company, Allen Partners, next month, to be replaced by Duncan Hodnett, who has worked for the Boston-based manager in London for the past four years. Allen, who represented Eaton Vance through Allen Partners prior…

(Pictured: Frank Pegan) by Patrick Liddy In late 1999, one of the Vatican’s custodians, gave a presentation to the to the Vatican investment fund secretary. She was flanked be several lawyers and at the time was concentrating on the ornate but functional legal document in front of her. Latin takes a lot of effort. The folk…

(Pictured: Mark Hallett)  The SS&C Technologies takeover of DST Global Solutions is likely to see an acceleration in outsourcing by fund managers who will be able to have their investment accounting and asset servicing systems, such as DST’s HiPortfolio, hosted by the software company. The takeover, announced last week, does not include the rapidly growing…