News

(Pictured: Ross Barry) Ross Barry, currently a contracted consultant at Towers Watson and previously its head of alternative investments, will leave the consulting firm around Christmas to join one of its major clients, First State Super, in the new year. First State Super’s CIO, Richard Brandweiner, has been expanding his internal investment team since joining the…

(Pictured: Mike Davis) Peter Sartori, the founder of Treasury Asia Asset Management (Treasury Asia), will become head of Asian equity for Nikko Asset Management, (Nikko AM) following the firm’s purchase from the Australian multi-affiliate Treasury Group. Mike Davis, the managing director of Tyndall AM (owned by Nikko AM), says the purchase enhances the Nikko range in…

(Pictured: Michael Baldwin) The Fund Executives Association Ltd said goodbye to its long-standing and much-loved CEO, Michael Baldwin, last week. The speakers tried to not sound like they were delivering eulogies, but it was difficult. Baldwin, who has had a private passion for the arts for many years, has become the deputy head of the National…

(Pictured: David Chaplin) The KiwiSaver scheme, New Zealand’s incentivised retirement savings system, has reached about NZ$17 billion (A$14.9 billion) in assets covering 2.2 million members, according to a research report by David Chaplin. But recent growth has slowed. Chaplin, a specialist journalist who this year launched a funds management research firm studying both retail and institutional…

By Tony Freeman*  In Australia and New Zealand – markets increasingly under pressure from regulatory change, globalisation and cost-pressures – one impending development is going relatively unremarked. It is the global trend towards shorter settlement cycles. This change will have a significant impact on Australasia.   The disparity in global settlement cycles extends across asset…

(Pictured: Darren Stevens) Systems providers in the financial services industry tend to be a good leading indicator of the industry’s position. If that is currently the case, the industry is in ruddy good health, according to Bravura Solutions. Darren Stevens, Bravura’s director of strategy, says that his “pipeline” of new business possibilities has doubled in the…

(Pictured: David Braga) David Braga, a managing director and head of product for JP Morgan, will become the new chair of the Australian Custodial Services Association, following the retirement from the position of Pierre Jond, the head of BNP Paribas Securities Services in Australia. As previously announced, Jond is to return to Paris at the end…

(Pictured: James McGeehan) QIC has added its weight to growing concerns, around the world, about returns leakages due to sloppy foreign exchange transacting. QIC held roundtables last week promoting closer oversight and monitoring by super funds. With the help of FX Transparency, a US-based specialist FX consulting firm, QIC presented to super funds in Sydney and…

(Pictured: Shawn Bookin) The question of credit, for super funds’ asset allocation during the current cycle, seems to be a question of ‘how much’ rather than whether they are ‘in or out’. Many investors utilize bonds as a low-risk strategy in their portfolio. In an environment where the benchmark index is heavily concentrated in low-yielding government…

(Pictured: Henry Capra) Henry Capra, an investment operations specialist who was most recently the chief operating officer at BlackRock, has been appointed local head of custody and fund services at JP Morgan. Capra has joined JP Morgan Investor Services in Sydney following the promotion of Australian-based custody and fund services head, Mark Kelley, to a regional…

(Pictured: Bruce Jenkyn-Jones) A double trend to thematic investing at the asset allocation level and ESG investing throughout portfolios augurs well for Impax Asset Management as it looks to promote its “global resource optimization” strategies in Australia. NSW’s Local Government Super is an early adopter. Bruce Jenkyn-Jones, Impax’s London-based managing director of listed equities, which accounts…

In a clever move on behalf of three of its smaller funds, Queensland-based administrator IFAA has put together a A$1.8 billion group tender for custody and administration, won by State Street. The funds are Mercy Super (formerly Sisters of Mercy), Club Super Queensland and QIEC Super, all acting with advice from JANA Investment Advisers. While…