News

Macquarie Bank, AMP Capital and Colonial First State have the most potential to benefit from China granting Australia’s first RQFII quota last month, following the deal between the ASX and Bank of China which will allow RMB-denominated investments. China funds management industry researcher Z-Ben Advisors has analysed the new landscape. In a report to clients…

(Pictured: Steve Tucker) When Steve Tucker ran MLC he fought the good fight for transparency on fees and fee-for-service advice, with a certain amount of success. Now, with the launch today of the new dealer group of which he is chair, Koda Capital, he gets to oversee a firm which is able to adhere to…

(Pictured: David Murray) comment by Greg Bright There were few, if any, surprises in the report of the Financial System Inquiry. Increased capital requirements for banks, a tad more regulation, some new regulatory bodies to oversee it, slightly sharper oversight and transparency in the planning world, a return to stricter gearing rules for super funds and…

(Pictured: Dragana Timotijevic) Select Investment Partners, which recently became a subsidiary of OneVue, has recruited experienced investment consultant Dragana Timotijevic as head of research. Timotijevic, who has for the past two years been doing contract work at the Australian Catholics super fund in Sydney and van Eyk Research, was previously a principal and global head of…

(Pictured: Mark Hallett)  The SS&C Technologies takeover of DST Global Solutions is likely to see an acceleration in outsourcing by fund managers who will be able to have their investment accounting and asset servicing systems, such as DST’s HiPortfolio, hosted by the software company. The takeover, announced last week, does not include the rapidly growing…

(Pictured: Ian Perkins) Ian Perkins has kicked his first goal since becoming acting chief executive of BNP Paribas Securities Services in Australia, with the successful bid for custody and investment administration of TWU Super. The new contract, announced last week, followed a review by the fund with assistance from specialist consultant Drew Vaughan of Dymond, Foulds…

(Pictured: Sam Sicilia and Nicolle Rantanen) The CIO and COO Awards, which were presented for the first time last week under the joint production of founding sponsor La Trobe Financial and the Fund Executives Association Ltd, will be expanded next year to include a category for CFOs. The Awards, which carry a cash prize of $10,000…

(Pictured: Phillip Weinberg) BestEx, the Australian provider of outsourced trading services to fund managers and super funds, is to launch a new-style trading ‘venue’ which aims to combine the best of the ‘lit’ and ‘dark pool’ markets. To be launched in Australia in the first quarter of next year, the trading venue, called Block Event, will…

(Pictured: Connie Mckeage) The new Eureka Report and OneVue will charge broker fees or asset-based fees for the range of investment products on their new investment platform brightday. OneVue Group chief executive officer, Connie Mckeage, said the platform was created for the kinds of investors that have some interaction with professional advisers and accountants but like…

 (Pictured: Philip Hind) Over 150 large APRA funds will be receiving contributions via the SuperStream standard by Christmas, according to the Australian Taxation Office. Currently 100 funds are already receiving contributions through the new system with at least 50 more, including one trustee company for small APRA funds or SAFs, coming on by the end of…

(Pictured: Ashley Porter) by Patrick Liddy Welcome to the Third Industrial Revolution, it will change the nature of superannuation and, in particular, challenge the current choice of platforms for many, if not all, super fund members. The great economic revolutions in history were infrastructure revolutions. What made those revolutions transformational were technological breakthroughs which lead to…

 (Pictured: David Gallagher) By Barrie Dunstan A recent study has raised questions about whether asset consultants and investors can rely on what fund managers tell them about how they manage equity portfolios. A paper by three Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR) researchers examined how well Australian equity managers complied with their stated portfolio characteristics…