News

(Pictured: Peter Sipek) Peter Sipek, director of investment services at AMP Capital, has resigned and left the firm, having headed up investment operations for AMP’s funds management arm since 2006. An AMP spokesperson said that the recruitment process was underway and, until the position was filled, Sharon Davis, AMP Capital’s chief operating officer, would oversee the…

(Pictured: Stuart Korchinski) Diversa Ltd, the listed boutique trustee and superannuation administration business, has cemented funding to allow for a big step up in scale and capabilities through two takeovers to be transitioned over the next few months. Diversa has raised $3.04 million through a placement which was led by the advisory firm of one of…

(Pictured: Xavier Rolet) Shortly after the London Stock Exchange Group announced its heads of agreement to acquire Russell Investments, the LSE’s chief executive and chief finance officer fronted UK analysts. The questions about Russell’s investment management and consulting businesses were unrelenting. If the analysts are to be believed, LSE is unlikely to retain the non-index part…

(Pictured: Phillip Weinberg) The legal action by the New York Attorney General’s Office against Barclays Bank over management of its dark pool of liquidity for clients has ramifications around the world, according to Phillip Weinberg, chief executive of Australian trade execution firm BestEx. The NY Attorney General is alleging that Barclays systematically biased its dark pool…

(Pictured: Chris Andrews) With first-home buyers dropping to a record low of about 12 per cent of all residential property buyers in the past five years, parents are increasingly stepping in to help their children in the process. But there are potential pitfalls which one fund manager is looking to alleviate. Credit specialist La Trobe Financial…

(Pictured: Warren Chant) by Greg Bright Maverick superannuation researcher Warren Chant has stepped up his criticism of the mandatory MySuper default funds for disengaged members with a measured presentation at the Frontier Advisors annual conference. He added that the regulation was favouring retail funds over industry funds. Chant, the principal of Chant West Financial said: “We…

(Pictured: Fraser Murray) Institutional investors around the world are facing some interesting challenges. A big one is what to do in an environment of rising interest rates. An even bigger one is what happens if we get GFC Mark II. A peculiarly Australian problem is that of capacity in the local equity market. The Frontier Advisors…

by Brendan Swift Institutional investors may have an overly optimistic view of the value of alternative assets according to new research, which suggests such investments have a stronger correlation to mainstream assets than previously predicted. The authors of the ‘Asset Allocation: Risk Models for Alternative Investments’ paper argue that alternative investments, such as private equity…

(Pictured: Russell Mason) In a new report that highlights a high level of inadequacy in the superannuation system, Deloitte calls on superannuation funds to introduce more member-directed investment (MDI) options and the Government to consider compulsory deferred annuities. “Perhaps SMSFs are so attractive to people when they retire because large institutional funds are not offering them…

Comment by Penny Pryor As long as I’ve been writing about superannuation (close to a decade and half), longevity has been an issue. The global financial crisis only heightened the fear of ‘running out of money before you die’. I’m therefore encouraged when anyone in the industry strikes up a debate and throws in some…

(Pictured: Jeppe Ladekarl) Affiliated Managers Group is preparing to launch an Australian trust on behalf of its affiliate First Quadrant, called the Global Alternative Return Fund, which comes off the back of increasing demand for the strategy and some major institutional wins in the US. The strategy, recently endorsed by the State of Connecticut which awarded…

(Pictured: Mamadou-Abou Sarr) After 25 years of ESG investing, Northern Trust Asset Management is to better coordinate its efforts in the space and lift product innovation with the promotion of Mamadou-Abou Sarr to a new position as global head of ESG. Abu Dhabi-based Sarr has been at the forefront of Northern’s ESG activities, which tend to…