Analysis

by Greg Bright Two conflicting trends are emerging in investment management which contrast fundamental top-down research with quantitative data sourcing, analysis and management. Forget the index versus active debate, it’s looking more like politics versus big data and artificial intelligence. Quantitative analysis could be at an interesting point of its evolution. On the one hand,…

The Australian Custodial Services Association, one of only two industry bodies which can genuinely be considered to be apolitical, has embarked on a new growth path, having appointed its first chief executive for many years and drawn up a clear program of study and member engagement. Given the Royal Commission, there is no better time…

With just some hints in its interim report – some stronger than others – as to what its recommendations may be, the Royal Commission into banking, insurance and superannuation will next focus on bank oversight at its November hearings. This will prompt the whole industry to discuss the likely options and the challenges and opportunities…

Why is private equity so expensive? Because it’s worth it, according to Mike Forestner, Mercer’s Atlanta-based global co-CIO of private markets. It can offer 3 per cent returns above public markets, he says. Forestner told Mercer’s annual NZ conference last week that private equity was “complicated, expensive and governance is a challenge” but – if…

by Greg Bright As the number of class actions over financial problems at listed companies grows in Australia, as it has been doing for the past three-four years, so does the pressure on aggrieved investors and their representatives to quantify the damage. The Australian trend is to follow America and leave that decision to the…

DTCC has published a new white paper to raise awareness of key risks and emerging threats facing the finance and investment industry and proposes actions to help address them. While the stability and resiliency of the global financial marketplace has improved significantly since the 2008 crisis, the paper published by DTCC (The Depository Trust &…

Institutional investors expect to allocate more to their various alternatives strategies in the next 12 months, on average, in every asset class except hedge funds, according to latest survey by the global alternatives research firm Prequin. But most have lowered their sights on expected returns. Infrastructure will get the biggest increase, with 43 per cent…

Super funds are participating in the global share market rally, with big gains from US and European markets providing a promising start to the 2018-19 financial year, according to the latest numbers from SuperRatings. The median balanced option grew at an estimated 1.1 per cent in July, while the median growth option delivered 1.3 per…

The nascent world of impact investing, whereby funds management enjoins with philanthropy and governments in specific projects and/or strategies, is about to get much more professional. A new academic study shows what needs to be done to give the recent growth trend a kick along. Michael van Niekerk, the author of “Scaling Impact Investment and…

The private debt market is taking off as an asset class for big internationally orientated pension funds. According to bfinance, the global mandate search specialist and advisor, more than 40 private debt searches have been undertaken in the past two years, two of which were for Australian super funds. Niels Bodenheim, a London-based senior director…

The avalanche of new regulations over all aspects of financial services in Europe – and we’re not talking about financial advisors here, we’re talking about the engine room of the financial system – is having increasingly global ramifications. A new study by DTCC attests to the latest imposts. The paper highlights the impact of securities…

by David Chaplin and Greg Bright Two stories in recent weeks from New Zealand may cast a light over the future direction for funds management and ‘product’ fees, such as those charged by super funds, in Australia and elsewhere. Because of its unique nature in the financial services world, New Zealand is becoming an interesting…