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Graeme Russell, the soon-to-retire chief executive of Media Super, has seen it all. On July 1, 2008, for instance, he was a trustee director of what was then JUST Super and a director of what was then the timber industry fund TISS. On that day, he was involed in two concurrent mergers with five funds…

by Denis Carroll* Group consensus is an amazing thing. How many times in the recent past, up until COVID-19 hit, have we heard expert commentators and fund managers tell us everything was looking good for a global recovery? Prior to the pandemic, the US continued to look strong going forward, Europe was making moderate gains…

Selvie Shaqiri has three main aims at her new job for Goal Group of Companies, running the APAC business for the global securities class actions recovery and withholding tax reclamation company: strengthen client engagement, improve efficiencies, and expand the business. Class actions are becoming big business around the world and especially in Australia, which has…

In 2011, professor John Cochrane of the University of Chicago came up with the term “factor zoo”. A fan of factor investing, he felt, however, it had become “too much of a good thing”. Since about that time, the growth in new factor strategies purporting to deliver excess returns from systematic investing techniques has accelerated….

In times of crisis value managers offer some comfort. They can see the silver lining, the light at the end of the tunnel, which other managers tend not to see. At this time of crisis, value managers, surely, after several years of underperformance, are about to come into their own. In a note to clients…

For a slightly different take on the same theme, GQG Partners, another US-based global manager, says that, to a certain extent, everyone is a value investor. No-one wants to over-pay for stocks, whether they seem ‘cheap’ or ‘glamourous’. Entry price is important across all styles. Rajiv Jain, the GQG founder, chair and CIO, says in…

by David Chaplin* Fixed income managers are latching on to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) trend pioneered among their equity counterparts “with a sense of urgency”, a new Russell Investments paper argues. The study authored by Russell global fixed income investment research director Yoshie Phillips, says over the last couple of years there has…

by Greg Bright After several years of shareholder complaints, customer complaints and a Royal Commission which also snared the big four banks plus AMP, IOOF is now in the firing line from Shine Lawyers in the latest big class action in Australian financial services. Shine, which has mounted several major class actions in recent years,…

Australia, for once, is one of the top countries in its budgetary response to the current crisis, at more than 10 per cent of GDP in federal government-promised spending. The Australian States and Territories have added to this amount. It’s probably around 15-16 per cent in total. How do we recover that money when the…

Zenith Investment Partners, controlled by private equity firm Five V Capital, and Chant West Holdings, a listed company which includes the software business Enzumo, are considered likely to reach an accommodation regarding their previously agreed merger. Zenith called off its part in the merger last week, but Chant West is disputing the action. While none…

Chant West has cancelled its annual black-tie awards night, scheduled to be held, this year in conjunction with Conexus Financial, in Sydney on May 14. But the research firm will hold a virtual version of its awards through a live stream to highlight the achievements of the finalists and winners. Brendan Burwood, Chant West managing…

David Bell, the executive director of the Conexus Institute investment and social research body, announced last week that most of the organisation’s efforts would be devoted to analysing and advising on the impact of the coronavirus. It has suspended some projects accordingly. Bell, a former fund manager and CIO of Mine industry fund, said: “The…