Analysis

Capital Group has an interesting suggestion: why not turn the standard portfolio construction view for investors on its head? Why not reverse the traditional beta-heavy core and alpha-seeking satellites of the portfolios of most big super funds? The global manager believes that putting active strategies at the core provides more flexibility, and, ultimately, a better…

Rio Tinto, a global resources company which has both an Australian lineage and an Australian supply base, has started a war, perhaps unintentionally, with big super funds and a large proportion of the broader community following the company’s destruction of an ancient Aboriginal heritage site – the oldest known in Australia, dating back about 46,000…

A report by media research group the Nielsen Company following Australia-specific data collection shows there has been a significant spike in readership of business and finance news and commentary online, and also share-trading access to online investor tools, since the start of the lockdown in March. Readership of financial news and information has jumped 43…

Even though almost all asset services firms suffered declines in their assets under custody in Australia in the six months to June, J.P. Morgan managed to strengthen its position relative to the rest of the pack. It will increase this further soon when it implements the transfer of assets from new client CareSuper. The latest…

Martin Currie, the global equities manager, has published a new report on ESG issues, which will become a regular publication, complementing the firm’s other papers and client notes related to the subject. The first edition is focused primarily on climate change, which a majority of clients have said is their main long-term worry in the…

New Zealand ethical investing analysis website Mindful Money has channelled about NZ$10 million (A$9.7 million) into its approved KiwiSaver funds over the last 12 months. In a new report published last week, Mindful Money says it “has set a target of NZ$50 million for year two”. “Anecdotal evidence from investors and fund providers suggests that…

Schroders has had a good-size presence in Australia for a long time, since the 1960s in fact, with investment banking first, and, more importantly in the past 50-or-so years, funds management. The family controlled British company dates back to the first half of the 19th century. But it is not set in its ways. Private…

Perhaps a major risk for media outlets is to spend too much time examining the risks associated with COVID-19 and not enough time on everything else going on in the world, which is analogous with the Portfolio Construction Form search for the “next big shock” (report this edition). Research Affiliates has done an analysis of…

It is clear that COVID-19 will have a lasting impact on the way that all businesses, including funds management and wealth management, will operate beyond when, hopefully soon, the pandemic has abated. One of the impacts will be to accelerate the use of digital services. A new white paper, by digital player Infosys, has outlined…

Big investors seem reasonably sanguine about both their performance during the current market volatility and the outlook for markets generally over the next few months, according to a report by global manager search firm and investment advisor bfinance. The report was based on a survey, in June, of 368 of the largest pension funds in…

Investment organisations are not learning from their experience when it comes to improving investment committee (IC) practices and governance, according to new research from the ‘Thinking Ahead Institute’, a not-for-profit member group linked to Willis Towers Watson. The research, ‘Going from Good to Great‘, identifies the aircraft industry’s structured-learning environments as one for pension funds…

Two studies published in the past month have shed light on both the latest rankings, by assets, and how Sovereign Wealth Funds are investing those assets. Unlike many big pension funds, there is a big disparity in the cultures of sovereign funds and their investment styles. The definition of ‘sovereign wealth fund’ could also be…