Analysis

by Greg Bright The proposed best-of-breed 10-manager panel to choose default funds plus forced amalgamation of funds which have underperformed for a period grabbed the headlines following the Productivity Commission’s final report on superannuation. For some practitioners this masks a missed opportunity. In 2011, when Bill Shorten, as minister for Financial Services and Superannuation, enacted…

Despite an end-of-year slowdown last quarter and lack of market price support for the year, Australia’s ETPs reached another record, up 13 per cent to $40.8 billion in total market cap in 2018. This was due solely to fund inflows. BetaShares is predicting an increase of between 22-34 per cent this year. Alex Vynokur, BetaShares…

Long the poor cousin of commercial and retail sectors of direct property, industrial – in particular warehouses – has been coming to the fore in the past couple of years, thanks to changing consumer buying patterns. Forget the old notion of a dusty warehouse. These are often new buildings, increasingly multi-storied, with robots in abundance….

The business case for diversity among corporates at board and management levels is compelling, according to Research Affiliates, but the investment case requires more work to measure the excess returns from having a culture that embraces diverse and dissenting views. The Californian-based smart-beta manager, which partners with others to implement its strategies, says in a…

With the rise in impact investing – the most active direct investing segment of the ESG trend around the world – a group of 35 North American specialist private equity managers has co-published a report showing how the alpha potential is being realised in the nascent asset class. The report published last month, ‘The Alpha…

Castle Hall has launched the first of three in a series of due diligence ‘primers’ which outline key issues for investors to consider when research managers in a particular asset class or topic area. The consulting and research firm is a specialist global due diligence consultant, with an Australian and New Zealand office run by…

Factor investing continues to expand and mature, based on broadly favourable outcomes and investor satisfaction, but the real test will come, perhaps soon, when the many relatively recent adopters take their factor strategies through a market downturn, according to a new study. This may prove an inflexion point in which, should factor continue to meet…

Institutional investors are more trusting of their fund managers and advisors than individual investors and the level of trust, elsewhere in the world, has generally improved in the past couple of years, according to a global study by the CFA Institute. The study, ‘The Next Generation of Trust’, shows that while the levels of trust have…

Renewable energy is, arguably, the hottest asset sub-class of the moment. Some fund managers, such as Aquila Capital, have a long history in the renewables area and can point to many nuances which investors should consider. Unlike some other hot asset sub-classes, renewable energy is here to stay. Renewable energy is an investment theme for…

Even before last week’s political strife in the UK over Brexit, big global investors were concerned about the growing systemic risks, according to the latest international risk survey by DTCC, the post-trade infrastructure provider. The slower-than-expected negotiating progress between the UK and European Union and the ongoing uncertainty of the outcome has positioned Brexit as…

by Jonathan Shaw* Building informed member engagement is more crucial than ever if funds want to retain and attract members. Engagement is a balancing act. Just enough and super fund members make better retirement decisions. Too much and they can easily derail their retirement plans. Walking this line is no easy path according to the…

In the property sector, the introduction of ESG principles has, to date, largely been confined to the design and redevelopment of ‘green buildings’. But a handful of fund managers has sought to integrate ESG in all aspects of their work. Property, more than most asset classes, is all about the long term, which is about…