Analysis

The big geopolitical issues facing the world will take a prominent place for discussion at this year’s annual conference of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA Australia), taking place in Sydney and Melbourne on September 19 and 20. Michael Thawley, a former Australian ambassador to the US and head of the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet,…

There are various studies – one a regular one by Ray Dalio when he used to write many of the Bridgewater Associates newsletters, focusing on US elections – that show political decisions, even wars, are not as influential on market directions as normal cycles and animal spirits. Well, maybe this time it really is different….

Comment by Greg Bright They have given big super funds sufficient, and reasonably clear, warning over the past couple of years but APRA last week finally said it was calling in the trustees of a number of super funds to question them on their governance, past performance and likely future performance. If they don’t stack…

Carol Geremia believes investors are coming around to recognising the performance problems associated with short-termism. She likes to quote Warren Buffet: “Time is the friend of the wonderful company, the enemy of the mediocre.” And, at least in part, the growing recognition and adoption of ESG principals and strategies are helping open investors’ eyes to…

Despite facing an onslaught of technologically-driven change “incumbents, not innovators, look poised to benefit” in the investment management game, a new World Economic Forum (WEF) report claims. The WEF report, titled ‘Beyond Fintech: a Pragmatic Assessment of Disruptive Potential in Financial Services’, says the last few years have seen some “profound changes to the investment…

While progress is being made in most countries with the development of new renewable energy projects, competition is increasing, government subsidies are coming down and returns are moderating, according to a study by Frontier Advisors. In a global comparison Australia does not rate particularly well for returns from either wind or solar. We also seem…

Fund investors globally have tilted to the bond market over the last month, figures from the Institute of International Finance (IIF) show. All markets except the US saw net inflows to equity funds too. According to the IIF report, a global financial services industry body boasting 500 members across 70 jurisdictions, fixed income products accounted…

Russell Investments has targeted a 50 per cent carbon footprint shrinkage in a new global equities solution soon to be offered in the Australasian market. The reduction to that level will have little-to-no impact on the portfolio’s tracking error, Russell believes. Alister van der Maas, Russell NZ chief, said the index-based strategy takes a multi-faceted…

by Greg Bright John Peterson, a former fund manager and asset consultant who is known for some big and successful market calls, has published a research note which adds to the growing concerns about the trend to passive management. Maybe it’s time for an intervention. The research note studies the performance of two main balanced…

by David Chaplin New Zealand equity fund managers have a much lower benchmark-hugging threshold to cross than their global counterparts, a new report by actuarial consulting firm Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) has revealed. The MJW analysis of ‘active share’ – a measure of how much a manager deviates from the index – estimates a theoretical…

Australasian firms will need to appoint more tech-savvy senior executives and board directors if they are to stay ahead of the disruption curve, according to new research by UK-headquartered financial technology firm Calastone. Sarah Hayward, Calastone’s Australia and NZ head, said last week that the research, which tallied the number of ‘career technologists’ in top…

by Greg Bright When John Nolan was thinking about starting his own investment research firm he had never heard of the term “asset consultant”. The 30-year journey he subsequently took, including building the firm which bore his name, in many ways reflects the journey of Australia’s superannuation system. But, as they say, the more things…