(Pictured:Â Lounarda David) Sunsuper has recruited Lounarda David, a former worldwide partner of Mercer and head of the Mercer Sentinel regional custody, transitions and implementation arm of the firm. She will be head of investment operations at Sunsuper – a new role. Reporting to Sunsuper CFO, Bruce Wilson, David had recently been doing some consulting work…
Towers Watson has made three new appointments to its Australian investment team, comprising two investment consultants and one investment analyst. This follows the five new appointments the firm announced in December last year. Graeme Miller, director of investment Services for Towers Watson in Australia said: “Our investment team is now bigger and better resourced than…
Joanna Davison… ‘FEAL has maintained a level of credibility’ Joanna Davison, the new chief executive of the Fund Executives Association Ltd has a lot of experience at senior levels in funds management, both in Australia and her native UK. But perhaps it’s her unusual qualification for a career in the city which may stand her…
(Pictured:Â Michael Kelly) By Greg Bright Past performance may not be much of a guide to future performance, however, you can learn a lot from the history of investment management strategies. Take asset allocation as an important example. Increasingly, since the global crisis, investors are looking at dynamic asset allocation (DAA) as a strategy for outcome-oriented…
(Pictured:Â Patrick Fanning) JP Morgan has closed down its transition management (TM) business in Australia, following the lead of its US and European colleagues who shuttered their operations last May. The Australian business, run by experienced TM manager Patrick Fanning, was given the extra time to support its local clients and discuss with them their likely…
(Pictured:Â Peter Cherecwich) Fund managers generally don’t like making major investments in technology and rebuilding their platforms. For most, this is not where they see their value-add for clients. More and more will be outsourcing middle-office functions in Australia, according to Peter Cherecwich. The Asia Pacific region has lagged Europe and the US in middle-office outsourcing,…
(Pictured:Â Timothy Schuler) While many hedge funds delivered on their promise, or close to it, during the global crisis, changes have been afoot to their strategies and processes since. Greater transparency and more backoffice resources to cope with regulatory changes and client demands have received most attention. However, there has been a more subtle change too….
(Pictured:Â William Priest) Last year was a record, of sorts, for share buybacks and other capital restructurings in the US. Fund managers who focus on company cashflows and what is done with them to deliver shareholder returns did very well. It’s not only about the increased flexibility cash delivers a company through the safety of liquidity,…
(Pictured:Â Salvador Saiz) Financial advice is the most important service that super funds can provide their members in the run-up to retirement, according to a survey of members of all types of funds. Only 13 per cent of those currently using an adviser do so from one inside their fund. The survey of 997 members aged…
David Braga … ‘I don’t think we’re at the end of the regulatory change program’ The Australian Custodial Services Association, which turns 20 years old this year, is a body whose importance in the superannuation and funds management industries has soared since the global financial crisis. It is also the only organisation of its type…
