Analysis

Trustees need to be wary of seeing everything through the lens of super, according to Chant West’s Ian Fryer. Engaging with controversial ideas around its uses can be a boon for member outcomes. As the big banks and their superannuation products copped a hiding in the Hayne royal commission , the rivers of gold correspondingly…

Trustees should consider “pre-mortem” stress tests and a whole of portfolio approach to the YFYS performance benchmarks to avoid underperformance, according to Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Jonathan Grigg, WTW director for investments, says avoiding test failure will be a high priority for funds, but not one that can override the obligation to act in members’…

To most market observers, Mainstream Group shareholders struck the jackpot with the takeover battle for the company. While happy with the result, it was not quite like that for the three founders. Judged on a world stage, they believe, the final $415 million bid represents about fair value. Sure, they recommended a lower bid worth…

There is a growing fear that the post-YFYS landscape will be dominated by a handful of megafunds, with competition – and differentiated member outcomes – disappearing. Super funds are about to experience a quick and bloody cull. With the first underperformance results expected on September 1, and letters to be sent out soon after advising…

With 128 fund managers having signed up for the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative commitments, one of them has spelled out just how difficult the path to net zero will be for both managers and investors. Martin Currie, the global equities manager, says in a report published last week (July 15), ‘Quantifying Decarbonisation‘, that it…

They are two hot topics of analyses in the investment world. What is not so well known is that the coming round of inflation will likely be exacerbated by ESG strategies. The obvious element to cause a spike in prices in many areas comes from the fight against climate change. But it is not only…

Every cloud has a silver lining. Alternatives may benefit from both the trend to ESG strategies and the extra inflationary pressures which ensue, according to the mid-year outlook from Franklin Templeton. Two of Franklin Templeton’s affiliate managers, Clarion Partners and ClearBridge Investors, say in the outlook report that accelerating growth and reflationary environment will benefit…

The asset management colossus believes three key themes will shape a post-covid world of rising climate risk and extraordinary economic imbalances. Ben Powell, the chief investment strategist for Asia Pacific at BlackRock’s Investment Institute in Singapore, said: “To state the obvious, the last 18 months have been rather unusual. It hasn’t been a normal slowdown…

While Japan has long been anathema to western investors, a series of corporate governance reforms are fueling renewed interest in the country. Japan’s status as a technologically advanced country with a happy, healthy population has long belied its stagnating economy and uncompetitive corporate landscape that has seen a slow grind downwards for markets since the…

While Asian financials will benefit from the world’s fastest growing middle-class, they also face massive headwinds from fintech disruptors and the looming threat of central bank digital currencies. Asian financials are still an important sector for investors and one that is poised to benefit from the region’s emerging middle-class and greater wealth accumulation in developed…

Multi-sector fixed income strategies are looking increasingly attractive as investors grapple with the implications of the global interest rate landscape. Manager selection is not so easy. A client paper by global manager search and research firm bfinance, titled ‘Multi-Sector Fixed Income: Back in Focus‘, details the complexity of the asset sub-class mix, even with the…

Super funds have battled with providing financial advice for decades but have not yet found a solution that can make it affordable and efficient for millions of low-balance members. Digital advice – including ‘robo’ – which in theory solves the affordable problem, has also been a decades-long dream for Australian wealth management, a revolution in…