News

The looming recession or possibly the current one – we will find out when the numbers come in – is expected to be both deeper and broader than the global financial crisis. For Australia, we don’t have a China story to save us this time. In fact, China may have a disproportionately negative impact on…

Conference producers are coming up with some innovative solutions to deal with their revenue slump because of lockdown rules. People who would not ordinarily participate in a webinar are now doing so regularly. Conference producer Fund Business has gone further, launching a new fortnightly series of industry discussions: ‘Leading Minds’. Fund Business, the leading producer…

by David Chaplin* Listed funds management businesses have emerged relatively unscathed from the first round of COVID-19 market disruption, according to research from consultancy firm Casey Quirk, a Deloitte subsidiary. The Casey Quirk study found median revenue among a group of 19 publicly listed asset managers fell just 6.7 per cent over the March 2020…

The US equities low-volatility index saw a record shake-up in constituents during the coronavirus market crisis, a new S&P Dow Jones analysis shows. At the latest low-volatility index three-month rebalancing date, on May 15, 64 stocks “rotated out” of the S&P 500 Low Volatility Index. “For context, the median annual turnover [of the low vol…

This year’s CMSF event, which typically attracts 1,200-1,300 industry participants, has gone virtual this year. The program includes 30 sessions and more than 24 hours of viewing. It is a mix of pre-recorded ‘download on demand’ sessions and live to air. And it’s very cheap to attend. In the first live session, entitled ‘Leadership Lowdown’,…

Martin Currie, the Australian and global active equity specialist, has called on other asset managers to create coalitions in order to drive change in the way firms and their clients invest. “Group efforts multiply the value of ESG investing”, Martin Currie, says, having been a leader in that space for many years. In its recently…

Russell Investments has published the results from a 3,000-member survey of working Australians which support the firm’s plans to launch a more sophisticated investment strategy for everyone approaching, or in, retirement. It will take account of personal goals as well as assets outside of super. The new service will be launched within the next couple…

State Street has seen a spike in interest, by fund managers and pensions funds in the region, in outsourcing their trading activities in recent months. The uplift appears to have been prompted by COVID-19 and the aim to reduce risk. Michele Hardeman, State Street’s Hong Kong-based head of global markets for Asia Pacific, has written…

Mainstream, the listed global funds, registry and super admin company, has secured a five-year contract with Pendal, the also-listed former Westpac global funds management subsidiary. The deal, when consummated, will push Mainstream over the $200 billion mark for funds under administration. It has taken Pendal several years to unwind its multifarious operational relationships with its…

by Simon Swanson* There is a unique 12-18-month window of opportunity for the Australian government to issue long-term debt to support the economy during the COVID-19 crisis and invest for the future. Even before the crisis, there was a solid case for the Australian Government to issue long-term debt to invest in Australia’s future. There…

GQG Partners, the US-based global manager formed by Rajiv Jain and colleagues in 2016, has raced away to A$47 billion in assets under management in total, about A$3.6 billion of which is sourced from 30 client funds in Australia and New Zealand. It now has a four-person office in Sydney under local head Laird Abernethy….

The Australian Government will ban commissions on listed investment company (LIC) sales in a move likely to dim the prospects for the ASX-listed vehicles, also, across the Tasman. Australian LICs are often marketed in New Zealand, usually through brokers. In a decision handed down last week, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed sales commissions on LICs and…