News

Andrew Dyson The structural challenges facing Australian fund managers, such as retailisation, fee pressures, retirement demographics and new technologies, are not confined to this country. But there are many nuanced local differences. Andrew Dyson, Affiliated Managers Group’s head of global distribution, is in a good position to comment. Dyson, who was on a regular visit…

Larry Tabb Likely changes in trading and execution on major financial markets due to technological disruption combined with the impact of regulations will not all be good for the ultimate investor. Opportunities will be forgone in the demand for more transparent, simpler and liquid products. Speaking at last week’s annual FIX Trading Community conference in…

Ben Johnson Morningstar’s second annual study of the listed smart beta market, ‘A Global Guide to Strategic-Beta Exchange-Traded Products’, shows Australia has outpaced the global universe for these tilted or engineered ETFs, with an increase of 30 per cent against the global 25.5 per cent rise over the past year. Morningstar defines strategic beta –…

Lars Jaeger Two developments are capturing the imagination of a broad investor base: smart beta and new ways to allocate between asset classes and return drivers. Recent research from GAM shows how the two can be combined with quantifiable benefits. The research note ‘Alternative Risk Premia – A New Generation of Alternative Investments in Liquid, Cost-efficient…

Nick Evans A new research report from TH Real Estate has highlighted the diversification benefits institutional investors can gain by investing in European retail property. The manager believes retail will continue to be less volatile than office blocks over the medium-long term. The 40-page report, launched in Australia last week, provides an overview of the…

Mans Carlsson-Sweeny  Ausbil Investment Management has recruited an ESG specialist, Mans Carlsson-Sweeny, as a dedicated resource with the aim of adding alpha through deep research on the ESG performance of companies. Carlsson-Sweeny, who was most recently senior ESG research analyst at AMP Capital, started as head of ESG research at Ausbil late last month. He…

Allan Moss  Small-cap Aussie equities boutique Eight Investment Partners (8IP) has put two big names onto a new advisory board for the firm – Allan Moss and Simon Barrett. The formation of the advisory board follows the recent win for 8IP of its first institutional mandate – a $55 million investment by Colonial First State…

The six-monthly S&P report on the performance of retail active equity funds versus their indices is never a comforting read for supporters of active management. But, this time around, it’s the bond managers who really disappointed. The report of the S&P Dow Jones Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) for the 12 months to June 30 shows only…

Matt Fellowes by Greg Bright In what is bound to shake up the fledgling Australian fintech industry, Chicago-based Morningstar Inc is working on an Australian launch for some of the robo-advice services of its US subsidiary HelloWallet, which provides various online retirement and financial “wellness” software and information. A Morningstar Australia spokesman confirmed last week…

Fiona Trafford-Walker  Fiona Trafford-Walker has maintained her position as one of the top 10 asset consultants in the world, according to a US investment media outlet, but she is now the only Australian on the list, which is compiled annually by Asset International. Trafford-Walker, the long-time head of investments for Frontier Advisors, is ranked number…

Fiona Mackenzie Australian-based infrastructure manager CP2 (formerly known as Capital Partners) has been dropped from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund roster in favour of in-house management. The $NZ30 billion (A$27.3 billion) will now manage in-house the approximately NZ$370 million previously held by CP2 in two separate mandates, a spokesperson for the fund said. According to…

Bruce Watson  Bruce Watson is to leave Mine Wealth + Wellbeing, the industry fund formerly known as AUSCOAL, after an association spanning 23 years, the last 10 as chief executive. He will look for his “next opportunity” towards the end of this year. The fund has instituted a search for a replacement – either internal…