Analysis

by Greg Bright The strong demographic trend to retirement, coupled with structural changes within funds management, is prompting a rethink in the way big super funds handle portfolio risks around the older – and richer – segments of their membership base. FIS Global held discussion groups last week. At breakfast meetings in Sydney and Melbourne,…

It is amazing that a debate continues between passive and active management, nearly 40 years after its emergence in Australia with the arrival of State Street and Russell Investments to these shores in the mid-1980s. Nevertheless, it does. The really odd thing is, in emerging markets at least, the debate is still worth listening to….

ASIC has fast-tracked licensing for 33 fintech entities under its two-year old ‘Innovation Hub’ program, a report issued last week reveals. But there is still only one player actually in the ‘sandbox’. According to the ASIC report, the Innovation Hub – launched in March 2015 to streamline licensing for fintech firms – had dealt with…

Industry fund Sunsuper beat strong challenges from eight other big super funds – all not-for-profit funds – to take out the prestigious ‘Super Fund of the Year’ award at the annual Chant West awards evening in Sydney last week. At a sell-out dinner, Scott Hartley, Sunsuper’s chief executive, congratulated his staff, which is usual for…

Forget ‘big data’. That is so last year. The latest developments in technology to improve both efficiencies from operations and returns from investment strategies are mostly to do with artificial intelligence. Philippe Denis and Philippe Benoit, both from BNP Paribas, spell out the world into which we are heading. BNP Paribas Securities Services last year…

State Street Global Advisors published its annual “Stewardship Report” last week. It is worth a read to help get a better understanding about the ESG tsunami washing over our industry. There is now no doubt: ESG management makes money. If you don’t have a strategy, please hand in your license. Most recently famous for coming…

The global growth story, which the world has been witnessing for the past few months, or maybe even a year, is not all good news. It poses challenges for fixed income investors, with likely rising rates and currencies. But, as always, there are opportunities. According to Brandywine Global Investment Management, the Legg Mason-affiliated specialist fixed…

Australian super funds seem to be well ahead of their international counterparts in terms of engagement with members if the response to a presentation by Empirics Data Solutions chief executive, Darrell Ludowyke, at a global CEM Benchmarking conference is any guide. Ludowyke presented at the conference in Chicago earlier this month – an annual event…

Good investment performance used to be all a fund manager needed to deliver. It’s still essential, but it is no longer a sufficient ingredient for success, according to Joe Sullivan, the president and chief executive of multi-affiliate manager Legg Mason Global Asset Management. Sullivan visited Australia last week to speak at Legg Mason symposiums in…

The odds are that the overall market returns from emerging market debt strategies – their beta – will be more subdued in the next couple of years than the recent past. But the allocations are just as necessary for yield-hungry investors. Here’s what one specialist manager suggests investors should do. Denise Simon, who has been…

Here’s an article for the serious quants. But, it should also be one for all of us. There is so much jargon surrounding factor investing, smart beta and passive management, including the increasing use of ETFs, that it is hard, if not impossible for ordinary institutional investors to get a handle on the trends. Research…

Australia’s Local Government Super has moved up to number one in the world for asset owners in dealing with the risks associated with climate change, according to the latest report by the well-regarded AODP organisation. And First State Super has come in third in the world ranking. The AODP (Asset Owners Disclosure Project) fifth annual…