Citi has won its first industry super fund, HostPlus, for full-service master custody in a deal which is likely to change the competitive landscape for securities services in Australia. The new arrangement, after a year-long assessment process which involved the AUD$12 billion fund’s most senior executives and three international fact-finding missions, is expected to be…
Towers Watson is expanding its team in order to increase its capacity to explore alternative growth investments, rather than high allocations to equities, for its clients. “One of the hallmarks of the organization, has been looking to help our clients diversify away from the excessive reliance on the equity risk premium,” Graeme Miller, director of…
The latest research into financial advisors’ attitudes to fixed interest investments for retirees, and expected future recommendations, shows a dip in future allocations compared with last year’s record actual allocations. But the research, commissioned by the big global bond manager PIMCO and undertaken by specialist research firm Marketing Pulse, shows allocations are, and will remain,…
While China’s long-term prospects – economically, politically and socially – remain bright, the short term is looking increasingly cloudy. Longview Economics, a London-based investment strategy consultancy, believes that the Chinese credit bubble will burst within the next 12-18 months and the region, particularly resources exporters, will suffer a similar debt-deflation cycle as the UK. Chris Watling,…
While Bell Asset Management continues to prosper from its distribution deal with Bridgewater Associates for its strategies in Australia, the manager is also slowly building its home-grown international equity capability. The Bridgewater funds represent the major share of BAM’s funds under administration – at $1.89 billion for the Pure Alpha fund and $2.29 billion for…
SuperFriend, the mental health support and research body backed by 17 of Australia’s major super funds and seven group insurers, is preparing to roll out six pilot workplace projects with various other organisations plus an important research project into insurance and fund data on death and disability. The research, being conducted with the IFS Insurance…
Nominations for the annual Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Year Awards, for fiduciary funds in Australia, close this week – on April 19. Winners will be announced at a function in Melbourne on May 7. The Awards, organized by La Trobe Financial*, with the support of 13 financial services firms or…
Comment by Greg Bright While the SMSF market will bear the brunt of the proposed new effective cap for super, and even though it is unlikely the proposals will ever see their way to legislation under last week’s announcement from the Government, big super funds need to be paying much more attention to the paradigm…
The Australian Government’s superannuation changes announced on Friday ended rampant speculation and were arguably brought forward to stop accusations of class warfare against the wealthy who felt they were being unfairly targeted. While there was some removal of tax concessions on superannuation income, the introduction of the Council of Custodians of Superannuation, which will be…
If there was ever a funds management merger which was handled badly – and there have been lots – then the worst in recent memory has surely to be that of BlackRock and Barclays Global Investors in Australia. The fallout continues with some new senior staff changes. The head of Australian institutional sales, the 13-year…
