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Australia’s industry funds have launched a full-throated defence of their sector as the national default fund debate heats up. Politics and performance are both at stake. The idea of a national default fund is a bold one, and has been advanced a number of times over the 30-year history of compulsory superannuation in Australia. Its…

There’s perhaps only one thing more satisfying for the business people who run big funds management firms than organic growth, and that’s to reward the trust of long-term clients. Around the 10th anniversary of the Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets team, three of the crucial players behind the success of the strategy have reflected on…

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has taken out the PRI ‘Stewardship Initiative of the Year’ award for its campaign against Facebook, Alphabet and Twitter to monitor and delete hate speech. The award, handed down on October 20 at the organisation’s annual conference produced from London, followed the action taken by the NZ$59.8 billion, as of…

Events of the past two years have led to many changes. In the investment world, perhaps none is more apparent than a new level of activism by pension funds. Managers and investee companies beware. At a plenary session at last week’s PRI Digital Conference (October 18-21), ‘Fund Governance for the Next Generation’, representatives of three…

Definitional concerns surrounding ESG have waned in the past few years. They are now mostly about measurement and standards. But what about impact investing? It looks like the new battle ground. Driven largely by the growing power of climate action forces, rising during the pandemic to a tidal wave of consumer, political and investor might,…

While the weight of global retail investment flows has swung behind climate-related themes in the past two years, that is not the case in all countries. Take a large developing nation such as South Africa for example. Ninety One, the listed global fund manager with a range of asset strategies and a long pedigree in…

After a lengthy search, State Street has appointed a country head for Australia as part of a progressive restructure designed to move away from a business unit focus to a more holistic approach. Tim Helyar has been recruited from J.P. Morgan, where he has spent the past 18 years, most recently as head of fund…

Perpetual Asset Management Australia won three categories in last Friday’s annual Zenith Partners awards, including the top ‘Fund Manager of the Year’. In the other major categories, Fidante Partners picked up the ‘Distributor of the Year’ and Eiger Capital the ‘Rising Star’ award. ClearBridge Investments effectively received two awards, that for ‘Infrastructure’, while the firm’s…

Investor demand for climate disclosure is at an “all-time high” – and rising. But disclosure is only half the battle. It can sometimes be hard to remember that climate change action was once solely the domain of activist groups rather than those who occupy lofty board positions. As Mary Schapiro, head of the Task Force…

Nuveen will embrace “natural capital” as institutional demand for sustainable alternatives rises. But fighting climate change can be hard when climate change fights back. “The challenge we have to increase the production of food, fibre and timber over the next 30 years or so is just monumental,” says Martin Davies, CEO of Nuveen affiliate Westchester,…

CFAs are a good barometer for the investment industry. Put 550 of them together in the current climate and the mood is downbeat. This decade could be the most crucial in human history. The annual CFA Societies Australia investment conference, which attracted about 550 attendees and speakers from several countries, was “all about disruption”, according…

The Principles for Responsible Investment organisation annual awards will be announced at the PRI Digital Conference next week, October 18-21. The conference and awards will provide a suitable opening act for the COP26 meetings to be held in Glasgow in the first week of November, arguably the most important climate change event in several years….