News

By Penny Pryor All Australian funds moved up the size rankings in the latest annual survey of the world’s top 300 retirement plans, produced by publisher Pensions & Investments and consulting firm Towers Watson. Of the 15 Australian funds that appear on the list, five are in the top 100, with the Future Fund having…

(Pictured: Ron Bird) The growth and size of the financial sector in developed nations – a trend dubbed ‘financialisation’ – are the subjects of increasing interest and some concern among regulators, academics and policy makers. The issue will be dissected at next month’s annual conference of the Paul Woolley Centre at UTS in Sydney. The…

The boss of a mid-size US-based hedge fund of funds, called Common Sense Investment Management, has been caught up in a police sting on a prostitution ring. James Bisenius, the CEO and CIO of the US$2.9 billion Oregon-based manager was arrested along with eight other men on charges of patronizing prostitutes, as part of a…

(Pictured: Amanda Field) A benefit of a low-return environment is that investors tend to put a lot more emphasis on analyzing the efficiency of their implementation actions and assessing their decision-making processes. They should do this in good times too. One of the tools which is increasingly being used in Australia and elsewhere is the…

(Pictured: David Collins) Nikko Asset Management is further integrating its business support functions with that of its Australian subsidiary, Tyndall Asset Management, with the establishment of a new position of global group marketing and communications. David Collins has joined Nikko in Tokyo from Hartford Financial Services Group. He was formerly a television producer and has…

(Pictured: Ken Froot) The global investor sentiment index has dipped again with Asian investors adopting a new pessimism in July. The State Street Investor Confidence Index slipped from 107.7 to 105.1, but State Street says that, given the turbulence in some markets, investors have broadly maintained their stance on risk. Asian confidence fell from 100.6…

(Pictured: Graham Long) Impact investing, which has become well established among the big US public sector funds, particularly in California, and is just starting to gain traction in Australia through state government social benefit bonds, will be discussed at the SuperRatings Day of Confrontation Conference in Melbourne on October 15. Michael Trail, the founder and…

(Pictured: Gordon McKellar) Australia’s Future Fund is assisting the Papua New Guinea Government to establish a sovereign wealth fund to invest some of the money from that country’s natural gas exploitation. Gordon McKellar, the Future Fund chief operating officer, has been advising on the new fund’s operating model. PNG is establishing a ‘Stabilisation Fund’ and a…

(Pictured: Jack Gray) Jack Gray, an executive director of Brookvine and adjunct professor at the University of Technology Sydney, believes the investment world has become too politically correct, especially in Australia. He spoke at the FEAL conference on the subject but believes there should be a wider discussion. He said last week: “There is a…

A former securities lending head at State Street, Craig Starble, has bought into and will become chief executive of eSecLending as part of a capital restructure of the firm following its purchase by private equity manager Parthenon Capital Partners. eSecLending is the world’s largest independently owned securities lending agent, with a presence in major markets…

(Pictured: Ramin Toloui) In a briefing paper to clients, PIMCO, the world’s largest fixed interest manager, has addressed the question as to whether investors should buy back into emerging market bonds after the recent sell-off. The answer is: perhaps. The paper, written by Ramin Toloui, the global co-head of emerging markets portfolio management, says: “From…

Comment by Patrick Liddy*  “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know”, said Harry S. Truman, one of the most courageous US presidents in history. And Harry was right, up to a point. Themes keep repeating, the same mistakes happen and hubris abounds. Afghanistan is such a point. Alexander the…