(Pictured:Â Bob Browne) Smart beta strategies are not without their risks, nor their costs. They are becoming increasingly popular, however, as super funds tweak their portfolios ahead of what many see as an end to the recovery period for major share markets post global financial crisis. Immediately post crisis, institutional investors became more interested in traditional…
(Pictured:Â Adam Gee) After a year which included a raft of regulatory change and review – especially the introduction of MySuper – the annual SuperRatings awards consist of 10 not-for-profit funds as finalists in each of the ‘super’ and ‘pension’ awards categories. The finalists for the four main categories were announced last week. Winners will be…
Stephen van Eyk… ‘we became highly respected because we were willing to make big calls’ Legendary fund researcher Stephen van Eyk may have left the field in 2010 but he’s still studying the form. David Chaplin speaks to him about the art and science of research – the skills which helped build one of the…
by Greg Bright NAB Asset Servicing has prepared a statement to be released to the ASX covering a new arrangement for the global component of its asset servicing arm, having received no offers for the business following a tender process. Northern Trust has pulled out of negotiations with NAB over the partial sale a couple…
(Pictured:Â Catherine Nance) Super funds are stronger than ASX-listed companies in “a couple of areas of governance”, according to PwC partner Catherine Nance, but differences between the two areas reflect a “misalignment” of regulation of the overlapping investment pools. Nance was the main speaker during a session on the governance of super funds, ‘Lessons from the…
(Pictured:Â Ken Marshman) Ken Marshman, the chair of REST Super and former chief executive of JANA Investment Advisers, has spent a good part of his career looking for ways to reduce the costs associated with active investment management. He presented a six-point plan to the ASI conference. A few years ago, Marshman was the co-author, with…
(Pictured:Â Richard Brandweiner) The challenge for big super funds coming to grips with the global trend of ‘impact investing’, such as the NSW Government’s First State Super, is “turning what we see as desirable into probable”, according to that fund’s chief investment officer, Richard Brandweiner. Brandweiner chaired a session on impact investing at the ASI conference,…
(Pictured:Â Patrick Liddy) There are easy dollars to be made where funds can increase returns without increasing risk, in the areas of tax management, cash and FX. “These are the only free kicks left in the market,” according to Patrick Liddy, principle of consultant MSI Group. Liddy told the ASI conference that a fund’s custodian was…
(Pictured:Â Francesco Squillacioti) State Street is introducing “enhanced custody” to Asia Pacific following increasing demand for the service in the US and, more recently, Europe. Enhanced custody offers securities financing directly to clients, without the need for a prime broker, together with traditional asset servicing and custodial services. According to Francesco Squillacioti, State Street senior managing…
(Pictured: Kathryn McDonald) AXA Investment Managers has chosen Australia to launch its first integrated ESG smart beta fund, which has been seeded by dealer group Financial Index Wealth Accountants (FIWA) with $55 million, and is available on the Asgard platform. The fund, which is powered by US subsidiary AXA Rosenberg, will have about 400 stocks…
