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(Pictured: Peter Gunning) Russell Investments, which has been on the back foot in the institutional market in Australia in recent years, has had a strong start to 2014, following completion of the arrangement with CSR over its outsourcing of the Harwood Superannuation Fund. Harwood, Australia’s oldest super fund, dating back to 1890, has about $1.4 billion…

(Pictured: Andy Grimes) Winton Capital, the UK-based global manager which has recently set up in Australia, will have an ongoing relationship with Macquarie, which has represented it for several years. Winton is one of the few managers to offer clients a performance-only fee arrangement. Andy Grimes, who heads the new office, said the manager has about…

(Pictured: Simon Ho) Triple3 Partners, the volatility manager which comes under the Grant Samuel Funds Management umbrella, is launching a retail fund this week following some success in the institutional market. Can volatility be seen as a separate asset class? Volatility is well known to be an investible characteristic, although its derivatives dependency can make…

(Pictured: Peter Tierney) After the global financial crisis the G20 finance heads decided on three things: to have more over-the-counter (OTC) trading in electronic and lit markets; to have third-party clearing for settlements; and compulsory OTC daily reporting. The last one, at least, is being phased in now. DTCC, the industry-owned global infrastructure provider for securities…

(Pictured: Marta Dusseldorp) Actress Marta Dusseldorp and comedienne and radio personality Wendy Harmer will be the guest speakers at Australia for UNHCR’s annual Mother’s Day Lunch this Friday, May 9. The event receives strong support each year from women in the financial services industry and this year’s sponsors are TAL (gold) and Antares Capital (silver). UNHCR…

Tony Lally, the former chief executive of the big Sunsuper industry fund, has witnessed the evolution of the global pensions industry over a period of 40 years, starting in his native Ireland in 1974. After 30 years in Australian superannuation he is now transitioning to take on board positions, both within the industry and in…

(Pictured: Steve Hall) Comment by Greg Bright Every super fund CEO I’ve ever met, which is most of them, has said to me that he or she runs the fund as a business. As I get older and grumpier (my friend Jack Gray says it’s OK to be that way and he’s a lot smarter than…

(Pictured: Nial Gooding) Boutique Asian equities and Australian small-cap manager Eight Investment Partners (8IP) has closed its Hong Kong office. Nial Gooding, the experienced investment manager there, is now looking to form his own boutique. Gooding said last week that, after 20 years in Hong Kong, he would remain there and look to build a new…

(Pictured: Neil Wild) JANA Investment Advisers has awarded a A$385 million mandate through its implemented consulting unit to Causeway Capital Management for global equities. Causeway, which is represented in Australia by Neil Wild and Michael Dorph, is an LA-based value manager for global equities. The firm, which was established in 2001 and has total funds under…

(Pictured: Andy Grimes) Winton Capital Group, the UK-based quant shop, has opened its Sydney office as part of a global expansion program for this year. Offices in Tokyo and New York are to follow. As previously reported, Winton has tapped Platinum Asset Management for its Australian rep – Andy Grimes. Before Platinum, where he had been…