News

Emilio Gonzalez and David Knox David Knox, the winner of the inaugural BTIM Retirement Innovation Award, credits a lot of people from a range of disciplines – “not just the actuaries” – for the successful construction of Mercer’s industry-first retirement product. The Mercer Lifetime Plus Longevity Solution is a pooled account-based investment option with income…

Paul Hennessy In what may be a sign of things to come in Australia, Capital Group has signed a distribution and product co-operation agreement with Samsung Asset Management in Korea. The US-based global manager has previously signalled its desire to aggressively expand its reach in Asia Pacific. Under the agreement announced last week, Capital and…

Tony Hildyard PIMCO’s man in New Zealand, Tony Hildyard, will leave the business by year’s end as the global fixed income firm ditches third-party distribution in Australasia. Adrian Stewart, head of PIMCO Australia and New Zealand, said Sydney-based Matthew McLenaghan would assume Hildyard’s NZ client responsibilities over the coming months. “Over the past year PIMCO…

A small Auckland-based superannuation scheme aimed at UK pension transfers has frozen after its eco-friendly investments turned nasty. According to its latest financial accounts, the GBP International super fund suspended all redemptions citing the inability to “access the valuation” of the underlying funds managed by Isle of Man-based investment firm the Premier Group. The GBP…

Bill Gross by Greg Bright The drama surrounding the PIMCO founder’s departure has resurfaced, revealing extraordinary excesses in pay and greed at the firm. Just when Bill Gross seemed to have settled into his new role at a little-known competitor, he has hit the company he founded with a US$200 million lawsuit. The detailed claim…

len Brennan by David Chaplin After months of speculation and false starts, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has hived off Russell Investments for US$1.15 billion to two US-based firms: a kittle-known fund manager and a private equity funder. One suspects this is not the end of the story. LSEG said last Friday it would…

Rob Krugman by Greg Bright* Have you noticed that people don’t respond to emails anymore? Marketing via email is pretty much dead, unless the recipient knows the sender personally. So, Broadridge Financial Solutions is helping clients to distribute financial information via different channels. Rob Krugman, the New York-based head of digital strategy for Broadridge, has…

Jeff Middleswart AFM Investment Partners is to launch an mFund for its global yield fund being managed by Texas-based Ranger International, complementing the fund’s platform access on Hub24 and direct lines for investors. John Donovan, AFM managing director, said last week that the Ranger International fund was clearly relevant for Australians looking for income generation…

Geoff Warren With collaboration from the Future Fund, the Centre for International Finance and Regulation has produced a body of research which amounts to an investor’s guide for capturing the advantages of long-term investing and avoiding some of the traps along the way. Geoff Warren, academic and former asset consultant, who is CIFR’s research director,…

Chi Lo The good news is that BNP Paribas Investment Partners, a big global and multi-affiliate manager, has provided clients in the Asia Pacific region with a reassuring view on the Chinese economic outlook. The bad news is that this is not necessarily a house view. Chi Lo, the senior economist covering Greater China at…

Investors – limited partners (LPs) – are becoming more positive about the Asia Pacific region as they see the risk-reward profile improving in several key markets. A recent survey by Coller Capital found that investors were more bullish on opportunities in India, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia. The survey of 113 LPs compares with…

Adrian Orr Sovereign wealth funds must begin exerting collective pressure on the financial industry over costs, the seventh annual meeting of the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds was told last week. The 29-member body represents 70 per cent of the world’s sovereign wealth fund assets. Adrian Orr, the IFSWF’s chair – and chief executive…