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Value investors are finally seeing “green shoots” in a style that has underperformed for over a decade, Russell Investments chief investment officer, Peter Gunning, global CIO for Russell Investments, said last week. In the first of a webinar series replacing the annual Russell NZ conference this year, Gunning said the value factor had flickered into…

Uniting Financial Services, perhaps the oldest ethical investor in Australia, whose philosophy and processes can be traced back to the 1980s, has ceased what was likely to be a positive review of Rio Tinto, as a stock in which to invest. The re-think followed RIO’s desecration of a 46,000-year-old Aboriginal site in Western Australia. Rio…

The increasing flow of money into the ‘impact investments’ asset sector is very pleasing for long-term dedicated participants, such as Nuveen’s co-head of impact, Rekha Unnithan. But there are still industry matters to be dealt with, such as an agreed definition of ‘impact’. One of the issues is that managers who may have previously shown…

by David Chaplin Almost all impact investors hit both monetary and non-financial targets in 2019, according to the 10th annual global survey of the sector. The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) survey of about 300 investors worldwide, including one in Australia, found that the overwhelming majority of respondents reported meeting or exceeding both their impact…

Eschewing cruder customs, such as making money, Rainmaker Information delivered an entertaining awards night for sales and marketing people in funds management, despite the current restrictions. Usually a gala social dinner at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom, the MAX Awards went virtual last week (June 11). They worked. Despite the straightened times, the publisher and events company…

People in the investment industry, as well as media and events, are taking stock of what can be learned and retained from how we coped with COVID-19 so far – as has been going on in most other industries. Perhaps the best-case study for very big events was provided by the organisers of Mothers Day…

For heads of operations at big funds management firms, moving 100 per cent of their staff to work from home was their biggest challenge of dealing with COVID-19. But what quickly followed was that share market and derivatives trading volumes spiked. It was a scramble to get back to business as usual. Ross Gulliford, head…

National Australia Bank Asset Servicing (NAS) has won the top award for the ‘Best Sub-Custodian Bank in Australia’ from Global Finance magazine in New York. The award’s judges assessed “reliably providing the best services in local markets and regions”. They did so for custodian banks in about 80 countries across seven regions. The decision, announced…

BNP Paribas Securities Services, with US$10.6 trillion in assets under custody, has started to use ‘Natural Language Generation’ (NLG) to help its global custody clients enhance monitoring and oversight of their operations. The new reporting is being rolled out globally, starting in Europe and the UK. As part of its digital transformation program, BNP Paribas…

A fertiliser industry body has won the right to butt into a looming legal action between the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) and a Western Sahara political activist. In a ruling handed down in the Auckland High Court last Friday (June 12), Justice Palmer agreed the Fertiliser Association of NZ could ‘intervene’ in the case brought…

Schroders Australia will bolster its multi-asset team with Angus Sippe set to join as portfolio manager in the September quarter. Schroders deputy head of multi-asset, Simon Stevenson, announced his retirement last week after 13 years with the global investment firm. Stevenson will officially retire at the end of 2020, Schroders multi-asset head, Simon Doyle, confirmed…

by Greg Bright Morningstar Australia and New Zealand presented its view of the world going forward in a webinar last week (June 4) together with that of two funds managers. Several good tips emerged, such as a strong buy on gold, but the combined view was not so clear. The prospect of a return of…