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(Pictured: Andrew Formica) Henderson Global Investors, the UK and Australian-listed manager which was owned by AMP for a few years, will hold its first-ever annual general meeting in Australia this Thursday. Australian institutions constitute five of the top six shareholders, after staff. Like most European-based global managers, Henderson had a rough time through the GFC but…

(Pictured: Katrina King) QIC has produced a research note to support expanding the range of fixed interest investments, including long/short strategies, as a way to mitigate against the adverse effects of a rising interest rate environment. Katrina King, director of “global liquid strategies”,research and strategy, at QIC, which includes traditional sovereign bond investing with credit…

(Pictured:Michael Jackett-Simpson) Transition management has been through a tough time, with several of the global players pulling out of the business in the past 12 months. Super funds shouldn’t worry, though. The survivors are actually expanding their offerings, according to veteran Michael Jackett-Simpson. Increased transparency has become a generic theme in investment management but it…

(Pictured: Peter Baker) The amounts of money securities servicing firms – mainly divisions of big banks – spend on technology is mindboggling. BNP Paribas Securities Services, for instance, spent A$150 million in Australia alone in the past three years. So, what do clients get for this? According to Peter Baker, the Australia and NZ head…

(Pictured: Annie Gurton) The global accounting information firm CCH grew frustrated at clients’ reticence to adopt new and better systems, even when shown they would save money and improve efficiency. So, the firm commissioned an industrial psychologist to find out why. Her observations are applicable across most industries, including superannuation. Annie Gurton, a psychological therapist…

(Pictured: Fergal McGuinness)  A study by the Stanford Center on Longevity and Mercer in the US has shown that various psychological tricks, such as showing someone a digitalized photo of themselves as an older person, can improve savings rates. Researchers associated with the Stanford Center have been looking at ways to strengthen the “emotional connection”…

McKinsey & Co has produced a bullish report on private equity off the back of new research indicating returns may have been better than previously stated. But, the consultants warn, it will be more difficult to pick the best managers in the future as their track records will count for less. The report published last…

(Pictured: Stephen O’Brien and Gabrielle Pool) The annual Oasis Africa fundraiser, which is supported by various financial services types, takes place at the Civic Hotel in Sydney’s CBD on May 1. One of the directors, Stephen O’Brien, is selling limited print photographs taken during a recent trip to Kenya while artist Gabrielle Pool (both pictured…

(Pictured: John Donovan) After the first-ever delegation to Australia by the Indonesian Pension Fund Association, the organizer of the trip, John Donovan, said he hoped some of the big Indonesian funds would become co-investors in the region alongside Australian funds. Donovan, the managing director of AFM Investment Partners, said last week: “The Indonesian delegation was interested…

(Pictured: Damien Frawley) In an intriguing deal, QIC has spun off its small-cap Australian equities team into the boutique incubator Channel Capital, which was itself spun-off by Solaris Investment Management, which is itself incubated by Pinnacle Investment Management. Confused? QIC, the big increasingly global manager owned by the Queensland Government, announced last week that the small-cap…