News

(Pictured: John Brogden) by Penny Pryor It should come as no surprise that outgoing chief executive of the Financial Services Council, John Brogden, believes that overturning the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms will do more harm than good. After all, some of his association’s members have been the most vocal critics of the political move….

 (Pictured: Matthew Peters) QIC chief economist, Matthew Peters, says a combination of four factors could lead to a perfect economic storm for superannuation funds as they try and boost returns for members over the next few years. At the same time as interest rates are at record lows, funds are facing increasing pressures to maximise income,…

(Pictured: Enrique Gonzalez) Comment by Enrique Gonzalez* Superannuation funds in Australia have always outsourced a substantial part of their operations to asset managers, asset consultants, custodians, and fund administrators. The increasing size of both retail and industry funds has triggered a review into a number of important issues. For instance, whether some key functions may actually…

(Pictured: Karyn West) Apostle Asset Management, the multi-affiliate third-party marketing firm started by Karyn West, is being acquired by its original sponsor, French-based Natixis Asset Management, following the expiry of the seven-year contract between the two groups. West and business partner Greg Johnson will continue to represent two of their own managers under the Apostle Funds…

(Pictured: Jeff Conway) After about 25 years at State Street, Jeff Conway is born again as the head of the newest of the State Street “pillars’ – State Street Global Exchange. It has taken him awhile to “adapt to a new space, personally”, he says. But he has started communicating what the information age really means…

(Pictured: Benjie Fraser) Big super funds, most of which are insourcing an increasing amount of their investment management activities, are likely to always retain a significant element of external management, according to Benjie Fraser. The London-based JP Morgan managing director and global pensions executive addressed an IMCA meeting in Australia earlier this month. Fraser, who has…

 (Pictured: Ben Thornley) Ben Thornley, journalist-turned impact investing advisor to the likes of the CalPERS pension fund, has started his own consulting firm and also co-authored a book which is a definitive guide to the nascent field: “The Impact Investor: Lessons in Leadership and Strategy for Collaborative Capitalism”. The new firm, ICAP Partners, based in the…

Your occasional Investor Strategy News correspondent is quite a fan of the ASFA annual conference. It has that ‘trade show’ feel about it: a place where you can catch up with events, and a place where people become friends. For sponsors, it’s a place of opportunity, for delegates a place for the curious. This year…

 (Pictured: Tony Freeman) China goes live today (November 17) with its latest initiative to boost the level of institutional investment, particularly from foreign investors, in the main Shanghai share market – the Shanghai-Hong Connect, known as the ‘through train’. Tony Freeman, the head of global industry relations for the industry-owned Omgeo trading services group, says it…

State Street and systems provider FNZ Australia have announced that State Street’s Australian clients will now have access to FNZ’s wealth management technology solutions under a new arrangement which should be of interest to super funds, managers and dealer groups looking to offer new-style member directed investment options. This combined solution will bring together FNZ’s…

(Pictured: Michael Block) by Greg Bright Michael Block is set to return to Australia, after a two-year stint in Papua New Guinea, as the new CIO of the big Australian Catholic Superannuation Retirement Fund. Welcome back Michael. We’ve missed you. And this is why. With the retirement from full-time duties of its well-regarded CIO, Anne Whittaker,…

(Pictured: James Savage ) Franklin Templeton has expanded its Australian team with the recruitment of James Savage as head of institutional sales. Savage, an experienced quant-orientated manager, should add some grunt to the firm’s traditional asset management capabilities. His new role is as ‘senior manager, institutional sales’, reporting to Keri Pratt. She said the role reflected…