Comment

Fewer people in Australia are likely to get financial advice in the wake of the Hayne Royal Commission – the inevitable consequence of implementing the final report’s wide-ranging recommendations.

The Australian Labor Party’s 2019 election campaign showed a depth and breadth of economic policies rare for an opposition party to present. Its policy agenda was boldly extensive. But in developing these policies over the past five years, it seems Labor’s economic minds overlooked some fundamental principles of behavioural economics.

The Coalition has put forward a scheme to help first home buyers get into homes, under which the government will underwrite a loan of 15 per cent of the value of the home, to be treated as part of their deposit, taking a deposit of 5 per cent up to 20 per cent.

Comment by Greg Bright It may seem like a small sample – just 50 investment professionals of big super funds, plus a sprinkling of consultants and managers – but it signifies what appears to be a growing movement to push back against the merger trend promoted by APRA and some industry commentators. The question: “In…

Tactical Global Management (TGM) has recently celebrated its 20-year anniversary, marking a milestone in Australian-born global macro funds management. Founder, Peter Higgs, has also recentlly been diverisfying his brief into the world of ESG-orientated impact investing. Launched in 1997, TGM commenced operations in Brisbane as a specialised tactical asset allocation management firm. It has subsequently…

In a first for sustainability, the UN-backed PRI organisation has linked with the Alternative Investment Management Association to launch next week an international standard questionnaire to aid investors doing their due diligence on alternatives managers. The launch of the standard questionnaire, taking place in London on May 11, aims to: “Improve transparency around ESG factors…

‘Cultural fit’ was both the biggest employee issue and recruitment challenge for asset owners and fund managers, according to a survey by HR consultancy RiskWise Professionals and recruitment firm Super Recruiters. The survey, of 30 senior management at funds and service providers, undertaken in January and February, showed that employers were also concerned about ‘too…

While espousing the benefits of scale in super fund administration, as you would expect from Australia’s largest single administrator, Suzanne Holden is reticent about suggesting that size is the issue that some, including APRA, say. “There are some very successful boutique funds out there,” according to the chief executive of fund administration at Link Group,…

Omega Global Investors has broken out of the image of being a fixed-income only house through the launch this month of an ‘equity income’ fund, run by new recruit John Moore. The move coincides with the opening of a Sydney office. Omega is a Melbourne based boutique which started out in 2008 in indexed and…

Katherine Allchin, one of the founders of the $20 billion quant shop Vinva Investment Management, has picked up a second non-executive director (NED) role – at property fund management specialist Fortius Funds Management. Jobs for women on boards are very competitive, too, she says. Allchin, a long-standing marketer at the former Barclays Global Investors, who…

Link Group, the diversified Australian super fund administrator, has completed the largest-ever migration of super fund members in Australia’s admin history, with about two million members of AustralianSuper on the Link ‘aaspire’ platform as of last week. The transition, which was made ahead of schedule and within budget, Link says, is the company’s ninth fund…

Astarte Capital Partners, a London-based alternatives firm, has come up with an innovative platform structure, with no management fees, which is offering a tight range of private equity opportunities backed by niche real assets strategies. Founder Stavros Siokos, who was visiting Australia last week as part of a US$200 million capital raising, says that he…