News

(pictured: Ravi Sriskandaranjah) Ravi Sriskandarajah, who launched BMO Global Asset Management’s Sydney office in 2013, has been promoted to head up the region, based in Hong Kong, as managing director and head of Asia Pacific. The firm is looking for a new head of institutional sales for Australia. The asset management arm of the Bank…

(pictured: Phillip Kingston) by Greg Bright There’s an old sharemarket saying that when taxi drivers start talking about stocks, it’s time to sell. Perhaps a new version of this is that when big traditional fund managers – such as Fidelity and T. Rowe Price – get into venture, it’s time to stay away. According to Phillip…

IOOF is consolidating the custody and fund accounting for its managed funds and multi-manager business, covering more than $20 billion, and will reduce the number of custodians from three to one after a review which began late last year. As part of the review, the manager is also having a new system built with the…

(pictured: Kate Mulligan) Kate Mulligan has made a return to funds management proper, setting up a separate company from her legal, compliance and operational advice business to launch a specialist manage-the-manager strategy investing in Latin America. She intends to roll out other specialist regional funds. Mulligan, who was the managing director of Advance Asset Management…

(pictured: Damian Graham) As super funds look to play a greater role supporting members with retirement products and services, they may need to think differently about how they look at the main risks faced by retirees, according to Damian Graham. Graham, the CIO of StatePlus, points out that, when members start to draw down on…

(pictured: Ian Fryer) Online calculators that generate income projections represent a good way to focus members’ attention on their retirement. But the calculators provided by Australia’s biggest funds, as well as ASIC, offer widely different answers to basic questions. According to a study by Chant West, the projections provided by calculators used by seven big public…

(pictured: Adrian Stewart) With the industry’s continued trend of retailisation, State Street has become the third big custodian to link with OneVue for retail registry – due to important client PIMCO’s new digital platform and information portal. As previously announced, PIMCO insourced its retail distribution from Equity Trustees and built up its internal team ahead of…

(pictured: Harry Rosenbluth) by Greg Bright The well-travelled Harry Rosenbluth borrows a term coined by Warren Buffett to describe the current environment for global equities: “there are no fat pitches”; at least in the developed markets. There may be no obvious mispricings, which is what he means, but good managers can always find ways to…

(pictured: Guy Cameron) It is almost certain that the US will begin its long-awaited interest rate rises next week, marking the first by the Federal Reserve in nine years. For global bond managers like Cameron Hume, the size and speed of subsequent rises is more important. Visiting Australia last week for the first time, Guy…

(pictured: Fiona-Trafford-Walker) Frontier Advisors has picked up an international innovation award for its ‘Partners Platform’ technology and is also picking up some new standalone business both in Australia and overseas. The award, from Asset International’s CIO magazine, was in the ‘consultants’ section of the sixth annual CIO Industry Innovation Award, held in New York. There…

(pictured: Sandi Orleow) Five new scholarships were awarded at last Friday’s Women in Super (WIS) NSW Christmas lunch in Sydney, which also boasted a record attendance for the NSW division of about 450 women – and men – from the industry. Sandi Orleow, who became chair of the NSW WIS this year, taking over from Franklin…

(pictured: Ian Silk)  He doesn’t do it very often but when he does it invariably causes a stir. Ian Silk, the boss of Australia’s largest super fund, delivered a state-of-the-nation address to last week’s ASFA conference, calling for the industry to reassess its targets: “What we do isn’t about money, it’s about people”, he said….