News

NZ’s largest community trust, Foundation North, will move to rein-in exposure to private assets after a stellar year saw exposure to the sector blow-out almost 5 per cent above the top-end of its target allocation. According to the Foundation North annual report released last week, the community trust’s private assets accounted for almost 20 per…

The small cap sector has traditionally been the domain of the underinformed and underprepared. But by taking a fundamentals-based systematic approach, Blue Orbit is hoping to change the game. “There’s a real clear gap and an opportunity for us to approach this from the ground up,” said Megan Talmage, Blue Orbit director and portfolio manager….

While the worst is probably over, emerging markets are still in a tailspin. But the best thing about starting low is that can aim high. For many investors, China’s recent regulatory crackdown has been a waking nightmare. Add on the delta variant, rolling blackouts, and Evergrande, and it’s a little disconcerting to hear Dr Joseph…

Fiona Reynolds, the former CEO of the UN-supported Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI), has continued a barrage of board and executive appointments with a director position at Frontier. Reynolds will join the board of Frontier as a non-executive director as she concludes a nine-year posting as chief executive for the PRI. The move comes as…

Investment consultants like JANA, Frontier, and Willis Towers Watson, are banding together to “drive real change” by confronting the “daunting” task of accomplishing a net zero transition. The Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative (NZICI) will see consultants embed advice on the transition to net zero into their advisory work and support clients on developing policies…

Super funds may soon be forced to reveal internal valuations for unlisted assets. But the lesson from the Future Fund is that the new regulations aren’t in anybody’s best interests. While much of government’s recent focus has been on implementing the “Your Future Your Super” performance test, super funds could also soon be subject to…

Global securities trading back-office behemoth Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has scheduled a live launch of a new blockchain-based settlement system for early next year. The DTCC blockchain – or distributed ledger technology (DLT) – service will enable a “netted T+0 settlement cycle” for US equities, the largest and most-liquid share market in the…

China is to get its third stock exchange, in Beijing, to augment the main Shanghai exchange and the smaller, tech orientated, Shenzhen exchange. The new Beijing exchange was announced by Xi Jinping, the president, in a surprise statement on September 2, with scant details provided about the plans for its operation. According to Wenchang Ma,…

Geoff Summerhayes, former APRA executive, concedes that while the short-term nature of the Your Future Your Super (YFYS) test is a “challenge” for ESG investment, climate change is a mega-trend that demands more attention. One of the main frustrations around the YFYS performance test has been that climate change does not occur on a regimented…

T. Rowe Price has hired Craig Hurt, an experienced fund professional who most recently headed up AXA Investment Managers in Australia, as its new head of institutional business for Australia and New Zealand. His recruitment is part of an expansion of business capabilities for the firm, which includes the relocation of the firm’s APAC head…

Pinnacle Investment Management has acquired the third-party marketing business Winston Capital Partners, primarily so it can control distribution for one of its affiliates, Coolabah Capital Investments. Coolabah, a $7 billion fixed income credit manager, has had a run of success in the past couple of years, with Pinnacle recently increasing its minority shareholding to 32…

It’s not just about the higher yields, although that helps. It’s also about the correlation between hard and local currencies. And Australian investors are in pole position. In a series of discussions with the firm’s Australian investors and others recently (August 23 – September 3), Grant Webster, head of Ninety One’s emerging markets ‘blended debt’…