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A tried and true allocation of 60 per cent growth assets and 40 per cent defensive, if still in use by advisors, presents “serious risks to advisors and their clients”, according to Jerome Lander, portfolio manager at Dynamic Asset Consulting, a provider of managed discretionary accounts, principally for financial planners. While most big investors abandoned…

Evolution Media, a part of the OneVue investor services group, has won a Gold Stevie Award at the International Business Awards for its ‘Secrets of the Money Masters’ educational series of television programs. The Stevies, which have been going for 17 years, take place around the world to recognise excellence in business and communications across…

by Greg Bright Jeff Bresnahan and Jason Clarke, the two founders of SuperRatings in 2002, have sold their combined stake of 37 per cent in the holding company Lonsec Holdings, of which Bresnahan is still chairman and Clarke still a director. Bresnahan, who holds the largest individual stake in the group, plans to semi-retire. Clarke…

It’s not only big super funds, such as Australian Super, which have taken a stick to Rio Tinto over the destruction of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal heritage site at Juukan Gorge in Western Australia, forcing the departure of the chief executive, head of iron ore and head of corporate affairs. ESG-orientated fund managers have also been…

Stonehorn Partners, a Hong Kong-based Asian equity specialist, is looking to expand its reach in Australia and New Zealand through the appointment of an Australian-based distribution manager after a successful first year of operation in which the firm raised about A$300 million and beat all its performance benchmarks by a wide margin. Jonathan Goll, an…

Credit managers have come into their own since the global financial crisis. First it was the search for yield as interest rates headed towards zero around the world. Now it is more about diversification, protection – particularly against another correction in equity markets – and opportunities to produce alpha. One prominent credit manager based in…

The scrambling which happened among big businesses following the COVID-19 outbreak, starting March 2020 in Australia, where chief operating officers (COO) directed traffic for thousands of employees to be able to work from home and still deliver good service for clients, was remarkable. It also shone a light on the COO’s role and what it…

by David Chaplin After more than 16 years at AMP Capital, plus a planned 15-month sabbatical which turned into 19 months, Sean Henaghan, the former leader of AMP’s multi-asset and multi-manager investment capabilities, last week quit the firm. He is currently smelling the roses in his native New Zealand. Henaghan finished up in NZ following…

Even before the fallout from COVID-19 hit home, hedge funds and other alternatives managers had been looking to diversify their offerings to cater to a shifting investment environment. This has had “strong implications” for their operating models as well as their traditional service providers, according to a report by the asset servicing arm of Northern…

Over the very long term, interest rates and share market returns have been positively correlated. It is only since the late 1990s that they have been negatively correlated for any length of time. A new research note by Michael Armitage, says investors should brace themselves for a return to the long-term normal and suggests consideration…

John Donovan, the head of AFM Investment Partners, based in Melbourne, has organised the first ‘Pensions for Purpose’ event for an Australian audience, in conjunction with asset consultancy Atchison Consultants. The virtual ‘afternoon tea’ was held last week (September 15). Cameron Hume, an Edinburgh-based global fixed income manager, was a keynote participant. Pensions for Purpose,…

Retail investors have changed the dynamics of US share markets, according to a study by digital broking house DriveWealth. The analysis by DriveWealth, which is the engine of several Australasian US share-trading platforms, found retail investors “have driven a shift in order timing” on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) this year. US equity orders…