Magellan has gone to its investors with a profit beat, a potential share buyback, and a promise that it will no longer be distracted by dalliances outside its core funds management business. Magellan came out swinging at its first results briefing since the surprise departure of Hamish Douglass, announcing an increased dividend, a potential share…
ASIC’s investigation into claims of insider trading at super funds keeps getting bigger as the regulator tries to ensure that “trustees are not abusing their positions.” ASIC’s investigation into so-called insider trading at super funds had previously examined the switching behaviour of 67 trustees and executives, excluding all but four of them from its investigation…
AustralianSuper will have $80 billion managed by external managers over the next few years as it eyes larger allocations to key emerging markets like India and China. AustralianSuper currently has $50 billion managed by external managers, a figure that will swell to some $80 billion over the next few years as the fund races towards…
While profit-to-member funds have been given the go-ahead to build reserves from new fees on members, Equity Trustees believes that fund shareholders should pony up instead. The issue of so-called “$12 trustees” has leapt to prominence in recent months as super funds flocked to courts to get the green light to build capital reserves through…
Asset owners haven’t been challenged with a sustained crisis in nearly 20 years, and it’s possible they’ll get one just as they make the jump into markets they’re unfamiliar with. Governance will be key. As inflation climbs and market volatility increases, Rich Nuzum, president of Mercer’s investments and retirements business, says that asset owners need…
AMP Capital has a new name and new suitors as it approaches a demerger in June. But AMP CEO Alexis George is playing her cards close to the chest. After a short stint as “PrivateMarketsCo”, AMP Capital will become Collimate Capital in an effort to provide a clean slate in the aftermath of the Boe…
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s proxy reforms have been blown out of the water. The question that remains is why they were ever proposed in the first place. The decision to disallow Frydenberg’s proxy advice regulations marks the end of a deeply weird saga where Treasury tried to annihilate an entire industry – that barely anybody had…
The Morrison Government has so-called “$12 trustees” in its crosshairs after they amended trust deeds to levy members for potential penalties. But APRA believes funds might collapse without them. The Morrison Government’s amendment to Section 56 of the SIS Act was intended to prevent super funds from paying penalties using member money, but – as…
The woes never seem to end in emerging markets, but their proponents see the current upheaval as a chance to take advantage of dirt-cheap valuations. China’s regulatory crackdown still has investors running scared, but Joseph Lai, chief investment officer of Ox Capital, says he and his team are like “kids in a candy shop”. Lai…
Magellan’s funds are unlikely to survive the departure unscathed, but commentators seem to believe the business will be better for the long-term. There seemed to be little sign that Hamish Douglass was in distress last week. He happily talked his book at a Morningstar conference as a horde of retail investors grew increasingly frustrated on…
