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(Pictured: Cory Martin) BNP Paribas Investment Partners is offering Australian investors new access to a global value investor which is happy to be known as ‘the biggest fund manager you’ve never heard of’. Barrow, Hanley, Mewhinney & Strauss (BHMS) is a US$100 billion affiliate of Old Mutual which hails from Dallas, Texas. In Australia to promote…

(pictured: Rhys Octigan) The introduction of quarterly reporting of MySuper fund options by APRA from this month may bring with it some unwelcome trends. Fund managers need to be prepared to have their numbers discussed on talk-back radio, for example. But managers and super funds can also take advantage of the extra data they are now…

(Pictured: Jim McDonald) The five-year outlook for global capital markets, published By the Northern Trust group in Hong Kong early this morning (Monday) paints a reasonably benign picture for investors, but with expected changes in relative returns between asset classes and geographical markets. The annual report from the fund management and securities servicing group, entitled “Enduring…

The global trend of increasing allocations to ‘real assets’ will continue, if the results of a Frontier Advisors study tour prove correct. However, big pension funds overseas may be less concerned about liquidity than Australian super funds – to their benefit and our detriment. After a trip to the UK, Canada and the US by…

(Pictured: Enrique Gonzalez) Milestone Group, the Australian-owned global fund processing firm, has continued its expansion path with the appointment of Enrique Gonzalez to head up product management for the APAC region, based in Sydney. He will have overall responsibility for the alignment of Milestone’s product line to key client segments, including repatriating globally developed solutions back…

Scott Webster of UBS: ‘fund engagement with their members is the holy grail’ The introduction of sophisticated member-directed investment options (MDIOs) may have been prompted by a defensive frame of mind among trustees of big super funds, which have been losing higher-balance members to the SMSF market. But, in the rapid evolution of these options…

(Pictured: James Burkitt) Family offices are becoming increasingly attractive places to work for investment professionals due to greater flexibility, less bureaucracy and regulation and, often, better remuneration. According to the latest research from James Burkitt, there are now at least 250 families in Australia with more than $200 million to invest, and 50 with more than…

(Pictured: Raewyn Williams) Parametric, the after-tax and implementation manager, has put some form and context around the regulatory push and increased general awareness of the importance of managing money on an after-tax basis. A new paper sets out what managers should and should not do. The paper, written by Raewyn Williams, a former manager and consultant…

(Pictured: Ravi Nevile) Mercer Sentinel, the custody consulting, implementation and transitions arm of Mercer, is looking for a new head of its Asia Pacific business following the resignation of Ravi Nevile, who leaves the firm at the end of this week. Graeme Mather, business leader for Mercer Investment Consulting in Australia and New Zealand, is running…

(Pictured: Denis Carroll) Investing for risk can add real value to portfolios over time, with a recent paper based on a time series of live decisions for a UK-based fiduciary investor, showing significant outperformance by adopting a risk-control target rather than returns. The paper, by consulting group CheckRisk, followed the implementation of its advice at IFG,…