Analysis

The term ‘big data’ has not resonated with investors in the way that the term ‘artificial intelligence’ has. Marrying the two helps. Now applying them to the ESG trend helps a lot more. Andy Moniz, a quantitative fund manager with a pedigree in data science, says he never much liked the term ‘big data’. The…

With an uptick in interest in hedge funds following better performance during covid-19, bfinance has produced a study on how big investors have adapted their hedge fund portfolios. The global manager search and research firm says that institutional investor sentiment towards hedge funds has been “noticeably more positive in 2021, supported by double-digit gains [in…

A new academic paper has labeled most investment strategy research as statistically flawed, equating finance industry back-tested analyses with the now-debunked historical medical studies funded by ‘big tobacco’. In the study titled ‘Finance is not excused: why finance should not flout basic principles of statistics‘, authors David Bailey and Marcos de Prado, argue that the…

The public facing aspects of Your Future Your Super (YFYS) risk creating a “pseudo ‘best in show’, according to new research from Deloitte. The research, titled “New ways to judge the past“, highlights a number of mostly unexamined pain points in the YFYS legislation and regulations – notably around the ATO’s YourSuper comparison tool and…

In his final speech to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), Ian Silk defended the organisation against all comers. But the Morrison Government is unlikely to relent. “To be prudent stewards of capital and to act in their members’ best interests, investors must remain focused on ESG issues in their portfolios,” Ian Silk said…

Alexis George, AMP’s new CEO, faces the task of returning Australia’s oldest wealth manager to its founding principles. The question is how deep the rot runs. What’s to say after nine days in the job? Not a lot. Alexis George took the reins just over a week ago and, sensibly, has not hit the ground…

Grey swan risks abound in fixed income markets, with stickier than expected inflation and fresh lockdowns posing a threat to the orthodox view of a global recovery. The great inflation debate has gripped markets as they come to terms with the implications of the massive fiscal and monetary stimulus unleashed through 2020. But while many…

Private debt is starting to attract a broader range of investors, including high net-worth individuals and smaller funds who are searching for yield combined with capital preservation. The attraction, alongside traditional supporters among the big super funds, has also been helped by increasing concerns about inflationary expectations – whether this will be transitory – and…

Funds should allow retiree members to request they select a retirement product on their behalf, and create “safety net provisions” for those who don’t, according to new research. New research by David Bell, executive director of the Conexus Institute, Geoff Warren, associate professor at the Australian National University, argues that relying solely on retirees to…

Big sovereign and public sector funds globally have skewed their investments to their domestic markets since the outbreak of covid-19, according to a report by Global SWF. However, the two Australasian sovereign funds, Future Fund and New Zealand Superannuation Fund, have stayed the course with their investment strategies, according to spokespeople for those organisations. The…

The portfolio that drives excess returns over the next decade ‘will likely look a lot different’ than that of the 2009-2019 period as the world enters a new era of outsize economic policy. Private equity giant KKR believes that markets are accepting “the visible hand” of government intervention across areas as diverse as inequality, monopolistic…

Fund managers show a keen willingness to embrace data science and systems such as centralised data platforms for decision making when it comes to formal surveys. But the reality is still something different. According to a survey of 300 global asset management firms sponsored by the asset servicing arm of Northern Trust, nearly half (48…