News

Even the strong trend towards ESG investing, overlaid with heightened interest in climate-related strategies, has failed to halt the decline in funds management fees. The latest biennial study by global mandate search and research consultancy bfinance shows that fee compression has caught up with global ESG equities over the past five years, the average mandate…

Apex Group, the global administrator and fintech which last month took the reins at Australia’s Mainstream, has notched up another, more eclectic, milestone, mixing ESG with cricket. Apex, which has a strong West Indian connection through the domicile of its chief executive and founder, Peter Hughes, became the ‘Official Sustainability Partner’ for the West Indies…

Big Australian investors have never been very fond of taking geographical bets in their portfolios. Just ask a marketing person about selling Asia ex-Japan, for instance; even in the ‘Asian Century’. There are good reasons for why they shouldn’t, the main one being that geographies limit an investor’s universe. A good investment is a good…

The world’s largest state-owned funds have accelerated their allocations to renewables and lifted their targets for net-zero portfolios but, so far, their investments have been “miniscule”, according to the latest report by Global SWF. In a special edition of its monthly newsletter coinciding with this month’s COP26 meeting, the institutional investment research firm calculates that…

AMP Capital will continue in a A$29 billion investment management gig with Resolution Life after selling down its stake in the insurer last week. According to an AMP spokesperson, there has been “no change to the [Resolution] mandate for AMP Capital” post the agreement to offload its over 19 per cent holding in the life…

Ben Phillips has left Casey Quirk, the specialist funds management consulting arm of Deloitte, after 13 years with the business. He has taken a role blending new technologies with investment data on a grand scale. The role, as head of asset management for ‘Global Advisory Services’ with fintech giant Broadridge Financial Solutions, aims to build…

An investor wish list shows how much we’re getting wrong. But it’s a long road to getting things right. One on one, big investors are usually loathe to suggest that governments could be doing more on decarbonisation, regardless of how true – and obvious – that statement is. Allow them to comment anonymously and that…

While factor investing has been taken up globally, it’s seen slower pickup in the highly concentrated Australian equity market. That’s starting to change. The success of traditional active management is mostly due to its exposure to the most common factors: value, momentum, quality, and low volatility. But while factor-based investing has become globally ubiquitous, challenges…

A profound shift in the investment environment demands a revolution – not an evolution – in thinking, according to Ruffer. It might be the only way to defy gravity. The analogy that Ruffer uses for investor behaviour over the last 40 years is that of crabs. The humble crustaceans evolved to fill their niche from…

David Atkin is to become the new chief executive of PRI, it was announced in London last night (November 1). He takes up the role on December 10 when fellow Australian Fiona Reynolds departs for home after nine years. Reynolds has just seen out a successful annual PRI conference and is remaining with the organisation…

IOOF has become the first external client for a new strategy from Nassau Private Credit, a US-based specialist global credit manager, with a US$50 million investment. The strategy invests in collateralised loan obligations (CLOs) focusing on ‘control equity’, mezzanine and debt tranches of third-party managed instruments. Nassau Private Credit has been represented in Australia by…

The premier newsletter in the institutional investment market space, Investor Strategy News (IS|N), has appointed Lachlan Maddock as editor, effective today. He replaces newsletter industry veteran and IS|N founder Greg Bright who will become Consulting Publisher across The Inside Network publications, and be a regular contributor. Bright, who founded IS|N a decade ago to fill a…