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Asset servicing firms have always invested a mind-boggling amount of money into technology. Their big institutional investor clients have not always appreciated that time and money, though, it has to be said. But in the past two-three years, the interests of both clients and their big custodians have become more aligned. The experience of BNP…

by Wietske Blees* APRA’s ‘heatmap’ of MySuper performance numbers, published for the first time in December, will highlight the importance of investment implementation, experts have warned. The contentious move from the regulator will be discussed at a major industry conference in Sydney next month, with Deloitte providing interesting insights. As a discipline, investment implementation refers…

With both equities and fixed income markets looking like they are heading for a major correction pretty soon, the 17th annual AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum in Sydney, March 3-5, will be looking at how alternatives can protect super funds and other investors. The forum’s agenda boasts Peter Costello, the chair of the Future Fund…

For many super funds fixed income portfolios can be their poor cousins in terms of integrating hard-fought ESG principles. A recent study looks at how funds can go about amalgamating ESG and fixed income. John Streur, the chief executive of US-based ESG specialist Calvert Research & Management, is visiting Australia in March to address this…

Corporate loan and credit specialist Metrics Credit Partners has set sights on the NZ market with an Auckland office due to open shortly. Andrew Lockhart, Metrics managing partner, said last week that the move was a response to high demand in NZ for alternative fixed income investments. Lockhart said, in the current ultra-low interest rate…

AustralianSuper and QIC have become part of a select group of financial backers in an American funds manager which specialises in ‘sustainable’ infrastructure projects. The manager, Generate Capital, has secured a total of US$1.5 billion in a recent raising. Other investors in the raising include Railways Pension (of Canada) and Sweden’s AP2, according to a…

SuperRatings, the research house, said over the weekend that super funds had a positive start to 2020, with the median balanced option returning 1.9 per cent in January, driven predominately by gains from Australian and International shares. But, the Coronavirus emanating from China, has made February a lot more difficult in investment terms. Markets have,…

by Greg Bright Sargon Capital’s main corporate entity has been placed in administration, prompting a trading halt on OneVue, Australia’s major unit registry and investment admin business. Let’s take a look at Sargon’s principals, the husband and wife team of Phil Kingston and Fiona Borelli. Neither Phil Kingston nor Fiona Borelli, Phil’s partner and head…

by Greg Bright As the markets get more and more toppy the active-versus- passive, age-old argument, is swinging more toward the active managers. No-one wants to get caught in a bubble of cap-weighted index-hugging indices at the end of the longest bull market in history. So, what do you do? As an aside, Australia’s main…

Thomas Murray, the influential global advisor to asset owners and their custodians, is, like many financial services firms, embarking on a new trajectory for future growth. The immediate next focus is on monitoring and due diligence of cash correspondent banks, plus technological developments. On a regular visit to Australia last week, Ross Whitehill, the Thomas…

“Value is a philosophy, not a factor,” according to Bill Lipsey, president and head of distribution for New York-based global equities manager Pzena Investment Management. He visited Australia last week for the launch of the firm’s new fund, the ‘Pzena Global Focused Value Fund’. “There are really only two ways to invest,” he says. “Value…

When it comes to valuation, how ethical or not a firm is matters, according to an academic study by Augustin Landier, Professor of Finance at HEC Paris Business School, and his associates. People are prepared to pay more for an “ethical” stock and want to pay less for an “unethical” one. A new study by…