by Wietske Blees* If investment risk professionals spent 2019 preparing for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous markets, 2020 is proving to be the year in which that ‘VUCA’ environment has materialised. In these “unprecedented” times, how well equipped are risk models to help navigate volatility and predict a reliable distribution of possible future returns? Strictly…
by Greg Bright Ahead of this week’s Chant West annual super industry Awards, being held via live stream video on May 14, rather than the usual black-tie dinner, several of the finalists for the top awards speak about the current difficult climate and what the industry has achieved. We have taken the opportunity to profile…
The Chant West Awards presentation, taking place via live video feed on May 14, includes a focus on the long-term sustainability of super funds and the way they invest. There has probably been no better year to adopt such a theme, with the summer from hell being followed by a global health and subsequent financial…
BetaShares has ticked over the $1 billion mark for its three ESG-orientated ETFs. This represents roughly 10 per cent of all of its ETF money and 70 per cent of all the ETF money in ESG and ethical strategies listed on the ASX. The BetaShares story in the ESG space emulates a bigger evolution in…
by David Chaplin, with Greg Bright* AMP confirmed last week that it officially ended an almost two-year long mission to offload its ‘manage for value’ NZ wealth business. In the process, David Murray, AMP chair, managed to bemuse the industry with a call for more pay for the beleaguered company’s senior executives. As previously reported,…
JANA Investment Advisers, the staff-controlled associated company within the NAB group of investment management and advice offerings, is making a major foray into the wholesale market, expanding on a beachhead established last year. JANA, which was previously fully owned by NAB but, since 2017, 55 per cent owned by staff, launched its first set of…
John Casey, a long-time consultant and co-founder of several consulting firms, including Casey Quirk, died last week of a heart attack. He was 77. Casey Quirk is best known in Australasia because of its director Benjamin Phillips, who orchestrated the sale of the business to Deloitte. Casey, who died at his home in Wilton, Connecticut,…
The A$45 billion Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) of New Zealand has sold down about $A47 million of energy stocks since rewriting its exclusion list last December in the wake of political pressure. The NZ Government fund is one of the most respected in Australasia. Paula Rebstock, ACC chair, told a parliamentary annual review committee in…
The Australian funds management market experienced record net outflows during March, outpacing similar trends in Asia and Europe, new figures from Calastone reveal. Calastone, the global back-office fund service provider, reported net outflows across its Australian network hit almost A$4 billion in March as panicked investors headed for the exits. According to the Calastone metrics,…
The wholesale investment platform Powerwrap, which uses Praemium technology, has let go all of its sales and marketing team. The firm has also let go two junior sales people who hadn’t actually joined the company, but were contracted to do so. Will Davidson, the managing director of the listed company, did not return a contact…
