News

(Pictured: Chris Tse) The unlikely alliance of FTSE, the index provider owned by the London Stock Exchange, and ASFA, Australia’s super fund association, has teamed up again for a new series of indices in Australia, this time for bonds. The FTSE ASFA Australia Bond Index Series is being sold on its independence from any of the…

 (Pictured: Stephen Miller) As the fallout from the Bill Gross departure from PIMCO reverberated around the world last week, one of its main competitors, BlackRock, got lucky with the timing of its launch of a fixed income global opportunities (FIGO) fund for Australian investors, just like the one Gross famously managed at his old shop. According…

 (Pictured: Doug Hodge) One of Bill Gross’s legacies at PIMCO, the firm he co-founded 43 years ago, is a refurbished room for yoga, pilates and other exercises at Newport Beach head office. Gross was a bit like that and PIMCO, for years, indulged him. While the room’s future is unclear, the occasional US$200 million annual remuneration…

(Pictured: Dennis Sams) Australia Post’s $6 billion super fund has become the fourth in a series of securities servicing contract wins for Northern Trust this year – all involving JP Morgan as the incumbent provider. And in an unrelated move, the fund has made its head of investments redundant. The change of custodian follows a review…

 (Pictured: Bill Dwyer) Bill Dwyer, former head of investments at Western Australia’s Government Employees Superannuation Board, has returned to Sydney and taken up a position as senior consultant at JANA Investment Advisers. Dwyer said that after just over five years with GESB, he wanted to move back to Sydney with his young family. He joined GESB…

 (Pictured: Nick Niziolek) The emerging markets story is about to get a bit more interesting as China introduces its next iteration of the “Through Train.” The last time this happened, in 2007, the Hong Kong share market jumped 60 per cent before slumping to lower-than pre-announcement levels. Pundits are saying: this time it’s different. The Through…

 (Pictured: Bill Gross) When a 70-year-old portfolio manager can cause such a stir you know he was someone special. Bill Gross, the Warren Buffett of bonds, will, incredibly, join rival firm Janus Capital today, US time. Janus has opened a Newport Beach “office” just for Gross, who famously dislikes travel. Gross’s departure was announced last Friday,…

(Pictured: Susan Dietz-Henderson) With the China question – a big multi-facetted question facing all Australian investors – you have to look at the long term. Perhaps more than any other question facing investors. That’s what US-based global manager Capital Group is doing with its research effort. Susan Dietz-Henderson, the former Australian diplomat who is the China…

 (Pictured: Darrell Ludowyke) Thanks to the internet and some fundamental changes to the way people communicate, the database business – forever the poor cousin of sales and marketing – is finally gaining acceptance as an area to invest serious capital. Darrell Ludowyke, a database veteran, says the business is moving away from being part of the…

(Pictured: Warren Chant) The super fund awards business seems to deliver as much intrigue as the industry as a whole. In the latest twist, one of the two new fund awards organisers, research firm Chant West, announced Friday it had split from its partner, Conexus Financial, for next year’s awards. Principals Warren Chant and Andrea West…

(Pictured: Peter Tiffin and Johnathan Thurston) Two fund management industry identities, Perpetual Investments group executive Michael Gordon and Ambassador Funds Management Services director Peter Tiffin, have come together to help raise awareness of bowel cancer, the second biggest cause of cancer deaths in Australia. Both suffered from the disease last year and have recovered from…

(Pictured: David Hartley) by Greg Bright Sunsuper has lifted the pace in building its in-house investment capabilities, with the recent recruitment of five investment professionals. David Hartley, the CIO, said: “It’s all about getting closer to our assets”. The $30 billion fund is building a middle-and-back office capability through improved risk reporting, mandate monitoring and securities…