News

By Greg Bright Pinnacle Investment Management, the independent Australian-based multi-affiliate manager, has recruited another senior executive to assist its global positioning in the institutional world. Multi-affiliate managers, Australian or otherwise, are a great barometer for the future of our funds management industry. Pinnacle has hired Duncan Hodnett, the former head of institutional business, and de-facto…

While pushing back its deadline a bit, the ASX has made great progress towards replacing its old CHESS transactions administration system with the new distributed ledger technology, colloquially known as ‘blockchain’. The ASX will be the first stock exchange in the world to embrace the new technology. In a paper on its website the ASX has…

IOOF has become the initial investor in a new international micro-cap fund launched by Brookvine and managed by US specialist Thomson Horstmann & Bryant. International micro-caps represent an interesting new asset class for Australian investors. The great thing about international micro-caps is that they provide the same entrepreneurial growth opportunities that Aussie ones do, but…

The New Zealand subsidiary of National Australia Bank, BNZ, has split its wealth management division along product and advice lines, hiring an executive from the Australian parent to fill one of the new roles. Following the redesign, current BNZ head of wealth, Donna Nicolof, has been named general manager private bank and wealth advisory while…

Government-related entities account for almost 70 per cent of assets invested by the world’s 300 largest pension funds, according to a global study by the ‘Thinking Ahead Institute’ (TAI) – an offshoot of global consultancy firm Willis Towers Watson . The report shows public sector and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) manage US$7.1 trillion and US$5.3…

Listed markets rather than private equity offer the best avenue to capture the upside of disruptive technologies, according to Ark Invest founder Catherine Wood. Wood, in Australia and New Zealand this month for a Nikko Asset Management roadshow, said venture capital could not build the necessary scale the current wave of innovative technology firms needed…

Institutional investors expect to allocate more to their various alternatives strategies in the next 12 months, on average, in every asset class except hedge funds, according to latest survey by the global alternatives research firm Prequin. But most have lowered their sights on expected returns. Infrastructure will get the biggest increase, with 43 per cent…

Heitman, the global real estate investment management firm, has taken on its first Australian client commitment to its US real estate debt business, which is one of the fastest growing set of strategies for the firm. There are several reasons for the popularity, according to David Maki. Maki, a senior managing director in private real…

National Asset Servicing (NAS) has appointed Jonathan Green, the former general manager for investment implementation and operations at TCorp, to the role of head of account management within the sales and relationship team. Green was also a member of the TCorp executive committee and investment committee and has more than 30 years’ experience in financial…

State Street Global Services has concentrated its regional product group in Singapore, making two Sydney positions redundant, including that of long-time senior executive, and a managing director, Paul Toepfer. Toepfer is a former COO at State Street who has been with the firm for about 15 years. Most recently he headed up the product group…

Funds SA, the $32 billion South Australian Government fund manager which handles several super funds, is going to tender for its securities servicing contract, currently held by JP Morgan. The fiduciary manager has appointed Mercer Sentinel to advise on the review and assist in the tender process. Mercer held a briefing in Sydney last week…

In co-operation with a Swedish endowment fund, DWS (formerly Deutsche Asset Management) explored a strategy which became a fund available to others in November 2015. The DWS Real Assets Income Strategy, the manager discovered, also fit the requirements of a range of investors in the current climate. According to Matthias Meyer, the head of investment…