Analysis

Ethnic and gender diversity among portfolio managers has not, until recently, been seen as a competitive advantage. Well, the times they are a changing. For global and emerging markets managers, this should have been the case long ago. Steve Way, a senior vice president and lead portfolio manager of Toronto-based AGF Investments, where he has…

The 19th annual Russell Investments/ASX long-term investing report shows the risk for Australian investors who “steadfastly” rely on a singular asset class to achieve their long-term investment goals. For most, residential property is their biggest risk. The report, which offers a comprehensive comparison between the long-term returns of key domestic and global asset classes, finds…

In a move set to hit tech darling Snapchat, index provider FTSE Russell has introduced new voting rights barriers for including certain stocks in its benchmarks. Under the new framework released last week, FTSE Russell says developed market equities in all its indexes “will in future be required to have greater than 5% of the…

by Greg Bright For John Coombe and Ken Marshman, at least, and John Nolan as an interested observer, JANA has come full circle. After weeks of rumours, NAB confirmed last week that it would be selling to staff 55 per cent of the equity in JANA Investment Advisers, which it had bought from founder Nolan,…

The possibility of rising interest rates in major markets, including Australia, has more than bond investors concerned. In theory, infrastructure investors have the most to lose. But new research by Frontier Advisors provides a salve: the link between interest rates and the value of very long-duration assets like infrastructure is not clear-cut. In a paper…

by David Chaplin In a report published last week Mercer has laid out a four-pronged plan to bridge a global retirement savings shortfall that it says could hit over US$400 trillion by 2050. Australia is included in the worrying study of eight countries. The paper, ‘Bold Ideas for Mending the Long-term Savings Gap’, says out-dated…

Never failing to let a chance go by, Industry Super Australia has analysed the latest super fund returns figures, put them in a 10-year context and, once again, compared the pair – industry funds versus bank-owned funds. The gap, the numbers say, is widening. The latest SuperRatings monthly data show, on average, industry super funds have outperformed…

The world’s leading pension and sovereign wealth funds, including Australia’s Future Fund, do not believe it is likely that institutional investors can achieve the standard returns target of inflation plus 4 per cent over the next five years. They believe, however, that by adopting best-practice procedures they can add an additional 1 per cent a…

Financial regulators may have to collaborate on a global scale to police the increasingly fuzzy legal border in the fintech era, according to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussion note. The IMF paper, titled ‘Fintech and Financial Services: Initial Considerations’, says with new technology breaching traditional nation-state boundaries “international cooperation is essential to ensure…

by Greg Bright It is the last frontier – China. Big fund managers have studied it and tried to build a business there. Many have faltered, but some have built a foothold. The latest to have a go is BNY Mellon. Good luck. One of the world’s largest fund managers should have a good chance…

The next big challenge for investors in the integration of ESG factors in their investment processes is the alignment of the 17 ‘sustainable development goals’ (SDGs) with their own investment objectives. According to index provider S&P Dow Jones, the SDGs are framing the global agenda of sustainable development. In a paper published by S&P the…

Taking active positions on the relative value of about 30 assets has added some NZ$2 billion to the New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZS) over the last eight years, a new report reveals. According to the NZS ‘Strategic tilting’ white paper published last week, the approach – where the fund takes long or short positions on specific…