News

The Grattan Institute, the think tank which has become a consistent critic of the superannuation industry, lobbed another grenade over the fence last week, in a paper on how to close the gender gap in retirement incomes. This is a complex issue which has been widely discussed within the industry for years. The latest report…

by Greg Bright Australia is the number one “standout” pensions market in the world over the past 20 years, according to no less a body than the Thinking Ahead Institute and Willis Towers Watson’s Roger Urwin. “Australian super funds deserve particular plaudits,” a new report says. Roger Urwin, the global head of investment content at…

Some of the world’s largest institutional investors, with assets totalling about US$30 trillion, moved last week under the auspices of the United Nations to flex their muscle – up against various intransigent governments – to address climate change. A total of 450 pension funds, sovereign funds and other ‘asset owners’ attended the 8th biennial ‘Investor…

by Greg Bright There is a big difference between the way the three investment management distribution segments address ESG issues. For retail investors, it is about the ‘product’. The rise of new-style listed invested vehicles, including sophisticated ETFs, has given retail investors many more options to exercise ESG preferences. Years ago, since the early 2000s,…

by David Chaplin Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have significantly upped allocations to alternative assets since 2010 during a period when funds under management leapt about US$3 trillion, new research from global consultancy firm PwC reveals. The PwC study shows the SWF sector lifted exposure to alternative assets from 19 per cent in 2010 to almost…

by Greg Bright The Australian Government has given a fillip to the long-discussed Asia Regional Funds Passport scheme with the release of draft legislation and a request for proposals to participate in a pilot program. And it’s not just fund managers who stand to benefit. Other service providers could do very well out of this….

Private credit is arguably the hottest asset class of the moment. Australian institutional investors have several global and local providers from which to choose. Now, there’s a not-for-profit organisation looking to promote the asset class in the region. The Alternative Credit Council (ACC), the private credit affiliate of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), has…

Among financial planners, at least, on average there appears little value in trying to enhance their clients’ portfolio returns through manager selection, new research by Research Affiliates shows. While the big asset consulting firms will dispute this from their own experience – and with some evidence to back it up – the ‘retail’ market results…

by Greg Bright We all know that index funds and smart-beta funds can, and maybe should, co-exist with active management. What we don’t know, yet, is how and to what extent this should happen. This report is based on the views of two well-respected analysts in the institutional market. APRA, with the rest of the…

by John Peterson In response to the article, “APRA still failing members with passive versus active discussion”, published on January 14, 2018, in Investor Strategy News, APRA took issue with the assertion that it is, “pushing super funds towards lower fee investment options”. As my research is the subject of the article, I am on…

By David Chaplin The year ahead will be tough for fund managers globally a new Deloitte report argues as margin squeeze, ongoing technological disruption, regulatory pressure and a consumer revolt come to a head. According to the Deloitte ‘2018 Investment Management Outlook’, the average funds management business “will likely be less profitable and have roughly…

Cyclically adjusted price/earnings ratios are not a great indicator of short-term equity market performance, but they are a good guide to longer-term behaviour, particularly corrections. And Australia is the most highly correlated of 12 major markets. According to a recent study by Research Affiliates ‘CAPE Fear: Why CAPE Naysayers are Wrong’, many factors have recently been…