News

It’s all boringly good at the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS): another year of bumper returns; another $1 billion taxpayer top-up; and, another glowing independent assessment report, this time courtesy of Willis Towers Watson (WTW). But after scraping back the thin veneer of investment outperformance, strong governance, operational excellence and best-in-show practices, WTW did reveal a…

For alternatives managers and their super fund clients, in particular, the five biggest themes in the investment world are here and deserving of attention. Simon Lorne, vice chair and chief legal officer of New York-based Millennium Management spelled them out last week. Lorne, who is also global chair of AIMA, the alternative investment management body,…

“I wasn’t very good at school so I missed the class on understanding negative interest rates,” Michael Block, the CIO of the $9 billion Australian Catholics Superannuation Fund, said while interviewing one of his heroes in the fixed income space – Bill Bohnsack, the president and senior partner of Oak Hill Advisors. New York-based Bohnsack,…

Regal Funds Management, perhaps the king of the Australian hedge fund industry, took out the major ‘Best Alternative Manager of the Year’ award last week – not for the first time. The annual charity/awards night attracted more than 400 people in Sydney on September 12. Simon Ibbetson, a long-time asset consultant and member of the…

Michael (‘Gal’) Gallagher produced a record-breaking AIMA Australia Forum last week – the annual conference for the hedge fund industry – and backed it up with a more personal victory, winning the ‘Contribution to the Australian Hedge Fund Industry Award’ the following evening. Accepting the award, Gallagher, who is the general manager and a director…

by David Chaplin ANZ Investments in New Zealand has handed the Australian-based Maple-Brown Abbott (MBA) a newly created global listed infrastructure mandate, seeding the portfolio with NZ$250 million (A$238 million), taking the number of external managers on the ANZ (NZ) roster to eight. Each of these runs offshore assets for the NZ$32 billion bank’s investment…

Colonial First State Global Asset Management today starts the rebranding of its business with the new name First Sentier Investors. This follows the completion of its sale last month to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. The new owner is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), an $800 billion manager,…

by Wietske Blees* Regulatory scrutiny around client and investor protection continues to increase, with both the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) sharpening regulations and, critically, enforcement of those regulations. ASIC in particular has ramped up what it refers to as “high deterrence enforcement” resulting in a 20 per…

by Chris Bedingfield* The world has changed dramatically for asset managers in the past decade. For those who believe they have something different to offer the market, it has perhaps never been harder to start up on their own. From super funds insourcing their asset management capabilities, to the chicken-and-egg circle of research houses who…

by Greg Bright Ken Marshman, the independent chair of Rest, called them the ‘matchmaker’, ‘the fiancé’ and ‘Muriel’. They are three people who have been involved in no less than 13 super fund mergers. In the current climate, their experiences should be noted by all funds. Marshman, also a former chief executive of JANA Investment…

Michelle Gardiner, chair of the investment committee at CareSuper, offered a five-point plan for super funds to maximise their performance and member engagement. It was an “anthropological” view, presented at the AIST’s Australian Super Investments conference. Gardiner spoke at ASI’s popular Women in Super breakfast, sponsored by J.P. Morgan. Her talk dove-tailed nicely with the…

Louise Bradshaw is to become the first dedicated ESG investment professional at the $9 billion Australian Catholic Superannuation and Retirement Fund. Greg Cantor, the chief executive, recalled the Sydney-based fund launched its first ‘responsible investment’ option in 2002. It has a long history in the space. The new recruit, who joins the investment team led…