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Passive investing could pose a threat to global financial stability if the sector’s growth continues unabated, according to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) study, published last week. In an updated chapter to its ‘Global Financial Stability’ report, the IMF says the prolonged low-rates, low-return period has given a tailwind to the “already remarkable growth”…

By Greg Bright Pat Farrell, the newish CIO of Suncorp, has delivered on the well-telegraphed change of outsource arrangements for its $15.5 billion of discretionary funds under management. The bank will this week transition most of its $9 billion managed by Nikko Asset Management in Australia to several other managers. The $7.7 billion on the…

Sam Mann, the hedge fund manager who set up the former K2 Advisors in Australia, has now established his own business in partnership with Ironbark Asset Management. Mann, the chief executive, and Andrew Flitcroft, the chief operating officer, have established Longreach Alternatives, which is providing a range of bespoke alternatives strategies for the retail, family…

Willis Towers Watson has embarked on an ambitious program, which it is calling the ‘Asset Management Exchange’ (AMX), to take out a layer of costs by reducing duplication of non-value-add services provided by fund managers and other service providers. The exchange was discussed at an event organized by the Thinking Ahead Institute, which is a…

Peter Ryan-Kane, the high-profile Australian head of ‘portfolio advisory’ for Willis Towers Watson, based in Hong Kong, has left the firm and is considering either setting up his own shop or joining another asset consultancy. Ryan-Kane said he wanted to remain in Hong Kong, where he has been for about 15 years, including since 2009…

Peter Lambert, the chief executive of NSW’s Local Government Super (LGSS Pty Ltd), has left the fund after a period of extended leave. A search is on for a replacement. Lambert joined the fund in 2007 and led it through a topsy-turvy time, which included amalgamating Local Government Super with Energy Industries Super, and also…

Brandywine Global Investment Management should know a lot about the Australian institutional market, for which it manages about US$4.4 billion. Big super funds are worried about China and they’re worried about currency. But things are looking up. On a regular visit to Australia, Tad Fetter, Brandywine director and head of business development and client service…

By John Kavanagh Superannuation fund trustees, investment managers, securities dealers and registry services have been put on notice that the New Payments Platform, which goes live later this year, has the potential for far-reaching impact on their businesses. The NPP was launched in 2013 by a consortium of financial institutions, with the aim of developing…

A ‘lower-for-longer’ environment, as it has come to be known, has prompted various responses from big investors, including going out the risk curve. Increasingly popular, though, is the use of single-manager multi-asset strategies. Multi-asset funds can incorporate non-market directional strategies which can provide an absolute return and/or downside protection. In the case of Insight Investments’…

Big super funds tend to take comfort in the knowledge their international fund managers and global custodians will satisfy requirements in relation to new European regulations – and there are a lot of them – without too much fuss or flow-on costs. But MiFID II may hit home more directly than they think. And some…

The launch of two hybrid China fixed income indices by Bloomberg early this month has fuelled debate about the inclusion of Chinese securities generally in the broader index world. MSCI is again considering its position on China for its emerging markets equity index. The two new Bloomberg Barclays indices are: Global Aggregate + China Index,…

In the latest leakage of talent from a major asset consulting firm, Ben Griffiths, the head of Australian equity manager research at Willis Towers Watson, is leaving to go to a big fund. The leakage of talent at Australia’s major consultants to super funds seems to be continuing unabated. With a particularly big job in…