News

In the six weeks between May 22 and mid-June, the way markets all acted together should have caused a change in approach to the asset allocation mix by institutional investors, according to CheckRisk. Negative correlations have gone and diversification is a questionable and expensive tool. The UK-based investment risk consulting firm points out that US…

Australian super funds tend to pride themselves on their international outlook and the level and diversification of their offshore exposures, notwithstanding the historical volatility of the Australian dollar. However, after adjusting for the size of the Australian market and several other factors, we are ranked only 11th in terms of avoiding ‘home country bias’. A…

Mike Turner, the manager of communications at the Harwood super fund, has taken a redundancy package ahead of the proposed outsourcing of the fund to a master trust or industry fund (see separate report this edition). Turner, a former securities servicing and super administration executive, said last week that he was taking a holiday before…

(Pictured: Martin Franc) Invesco Ltd has recruited a new country head for its Australian asset management business following the departure of CEO Mick O’Brien after seven years with the firm. Invesco, which has about US$750 billion under management globally but has struggled to gain traction in Australia since it acquired County Investment Management in 2001,…

(Pictured: Garry Weaven) With big super funds under increasing pressure to retain high-balance members because of an onslaught from SMSF service providers, new research indicates that the situation will only get worse over the next few years. SMSF trustees are getting younger and their number is tipped to double. The research, conducted by Macquarie Bank…

(Pictured: Peter Baker) Australian custodians are gearing up for the application of Stronger Super regulations with service providers Milestone Group and Ausmaq already coming to the party with their new procedures for funds to be able to post details of all their underlying securities by mid-next year. The “look-through” regulation remains controversial due to several…

(Pictured: James MacNevin) State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has confirmed the board and senior management of its new Chinese joint venture, SSGA Fund Management Co Ltd, which will be 51 per cent owned by Zhongrong International Trust Co (ZRT). The new funds management firm, which will be based in Beijing, will be focused at least…

(Pictured: Michael Bargholz) Fidelity Investments should provide an interesting test for the outsourced unit registry market with its new strategy of reducing minimum managed fund entry levels to as low as A$25,000. Fidelity appointed Link Administration, a newcomer to unit registry, because of the shuttering of Computershare to new unit registry business. Link is best…

The review of custody for Cbus is understood to be close to a final decision, after several months of work with the help of specialist consultant Drew Vaughan of Dymond, Foulds & Vaughan. Cbus, the A$20 billion fund for the construction industry, has been a long-time client of NAB Asset Servicing. One of the famously…

One of the comforting factors about the annual Russell Investments/ASX “Long-Term Investing Report” is the regularity with which the lead changes for what is the best-performing asset class over even very long timeframes. Investment professionals know how difficult it is to predict a winner. The latest report books Australian shares as the top performer over…

(Pictured: John Brogden) The charity Lifeline is holding its 45th anniversary fund-raising dinner for the Sydney North Shore branch at Luna Park on August 31, with many financial services types booked to attend, including the Financial Services Council CEO, John Brogden, alongside NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell. Lifeline, which helps prevent suicide for people in crisis,…

(pictured: Ravi Nevile) Mercer Investments has permanently filled the gap at the top of Mercer Sentinel in Australia and New Zealand, with the planned transfer of Ravi Nevile from the firm’s Singapore office. Mercer’s COO, Jodie Hampshire, had been filling in as the Australia and New Zealand head of the specialist operational efficiency and transitions…