News

by David Chaplin Russell Investments has restructured portfolio management reporting lines and is looking to move to an ’emulation’ model across its funds. Two long-time senior investment people in the Sydney office have been let go. Peter Gunning, Russell chief executive for Asia Pacific, said the restructure had seen some senior staff moves in Australia…

Super funds often talk about their long-term investment horizons. You have to wonder, though, given peer group pressure is real for the people who run the funds. Martin Currie Investment Management is asking investors to make a genuine commitment to this long-term view for its flagship global concentrated unconstrained equity fund. The fund, which in…

All the forces of regulators, advisors and customers in the super and funds management industry point, inexorably, to further pressure on costs for all players. Areas which have not yet seen headline cost pressure from these forces are now likely to feel them. A new white paper by Northern Trust, called ‘Catching the Wave: Global…

The two sides to the deal whereby Canadian fund manager CI Financial took a controlling stake in GSFM Funds Management is starting to take shape, with the Australian-based firm launching successful campaigns to both export Australian capabilities to Canada and import those via its new parent. The deal, signed in November 2016, involved the purchase…

International micro-cap specialist THB Asset Management is increasingly observing its client base and potential clients looking at the asset sub-class as an alternative to private equity – similar return characteristics but at a reduced cost and with better liquidity. Visiting Australia last week, Christopher Cuesta, the firm’s chief executive, said that about 40 per cent…

Willis Towers Watson’s Thinking Ahead Institute has given the first public forums into its latest work, providing an insight into the way the researchers and their big pension funds and other member organisations are thinking about the future of funds management. Big changes are on the way. The Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI), which is funded…

The issue of manager fees, which are still considered by some asset owners to be too high despite several years of compression, under the wider umbrella of general ‘compensation’, is about to get more interesting. We’ve recently seen zero fees. Now, how about ‘negative fees’? Luba Nikulina, Willis Towers Watson’s global head of manager research,…

It may be unpalatable to hear, but, at least within the investment options of profit-for-member super funds, so-called ‘sustainable’ investment funds don’t do as well as your plain vanilla balanced-type options. Fees are an issue and returns are lower, according to new SuperRatings research. The results of a SuperRatings study on the subject were published…

The Global Impact Investing Network is today (April 1) releasing its ‘Sizing the Impact Investing Market’ report, an in-depth analysis of the current size and composition of the impact investing market. This is a world first. The GIIN estimates the global impact investing market to be US$502 billion. Although impact investing has become increasingly popular in…

by Greg Bright NAB Asset Servicing has won two new clients – both from BNP Paribas Securities Services – in a welcome relief after a couple of tough years, from a business sense. Importantly, the wins were made on its own. NAB and Citi, its international partner, now do their own pitches. REI Super, the…

It’s actually not easy to work out what’s in a member’s best interests. It can be a complex and difficult question to answer, according to Ian Fryer. The head of research at Chant West says there are many different ways to do all the things that are, in fact, in a member’s best interests. From…

This year’s Chant West Awards night, the seventh annual event for super funds, which takes place on May 22 in Sydney, appropriately, is focused on how super funds are going about their business of acting in the best interest of members.  Here are the finalists…