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(Pictured: Martin Donnelly) Global advisory and capital placement firm FIRSTavenue has opened an office in Sydney and appointed Martin Donnelly as partner and head of the local operation. Donnelly joined FIRSTavenue from Blackstone Alternative Asset Management, where he was managing director of the hedge fund solutions group Australia. He is still listed as such on the…

(Pictured: Olivia Engel) State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) won one of its first major mandates for its Global Managed Volatility Alpha strategy during the week – a $115 million mandate from the IOOF MultiMix multi-managed superannuation funds – but what is interesting about the strategy is that it tailors its global offering depending on the country…

(Pictured: John Pearce) UniSuper, the fund for higher education professionals and staff, is looking to boost its range of sector specific options to ten, with a credit option, but chief investment officer, John Pearce, says its unlikely they will offer more options than that anytime soon. “If you focus on just a small range of options…

(Pictured: Manny Pohl) Following the appointment of Andrew Dale to his investment team, and the opening of a Sydney office, ECP Asset Management chairman and chief executive officer, Manny Pohl, is optimistic the fund will sign up its first institutional client by the end of the year. “As you know, institutional mandates can take a while….

(Pictured: Carl Tannenbaum) Carl Tannenbaum, senior economist and vice president at Northern Trust, seems to think Australians are a pessimistic bunch. “For a country that hasn’t had a recession in 22 years which, relative to a lot of other developed countries, is really doing quite well, [with a] strong banking system, a pretty well balanced economic…

(Pictured: Steve Howell) HCAP Asset Management is opening its next, and fifth, single asset trust, called the South Brisbane Single Asset Trust, to investors on Wednesday for an offer close data of 11 June 2014. The trust offers exposure to a residential development project and targets a substantial return of 25 per cent over 18 months,…

Michael Loizou… ‘clients stick around because they trust us to help them’ Experienced financial planners usually develop their own network of advisors, for technical advice, business advice, general advice and just, really, to compare notes. According to Michael Loizou, the founder and principal of Capital Results in Sydney, it’s all about learning. He spoke with…

(Pictured: Elmer Funke Kupper) by Greg Bright An hour or so after mFund was launched, with some fanfare, at the ASX last Thursday (May 8), Tyndall Asset Management completed its annual advisor roadshow. At both events, in Sydney, the continuing SMSF phenomenon got an airing. While just a small part of its presentation, Tyndall demonstrated how…

(Pictured: Ian Martin) State Street has restructured its senior management in three of its four divisions across the region, with Sydney-based Ian Martin, who ran global markets and securities services in Australia and southern Asia, being promoted to a new role in Hong Kong. He is being replaced by Chris Taylor, who is moving from Hong…

(Pictured: Alan Dorsey) Alan Dorsey likens the new strategic partnerships between multi-asset managers and big pension funds as buying a custom-made suit where, generally, the wearer wants some alterations over time. Traditional mandates are more your off-the-rack fare. Dorsey, a managing director and head of investment strategy and risk for Neuberger Berman, based in New York,…