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by Matthew Lee AXA Investment Managers has launched a global equity strategy capitalising on companies which promote gender diversity along side responsible investing. The move comes as part of the growing global trend towards ESG, of which gender diversity is a key part. The strategy aims to generate long-term capital growth from companies that foster…

The proposed merger of Pengana Holdings and Hunter Hall International is good for Hunter Hall investors according to Geoff Wilson, who has been battling for small shareholders since the bizarre sale of a big part of his stake by founder Peter Hall over Christmas. If it progresses, which is considered likely, the merger should bring…

The finalists for the Chant West 2017 Super Fund Awards are being announced today. The awards – the industry’s most prestigious – span 12 categories, including Super and Pension Funds of the Year. They will be presented at a black-tie dinner at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom on May 24. The finalists for Super Fund of the…

One of Australia’s oldest and largest surviving corporate super funds, the Reserve Bank of Australia Officers’ Superannuation Fund, is to be folded next week into Sunsuper. The $1.3 billion fund, advised by Willis Towers Watson, will have its own sub-plan but will take on all the Sunsuper managers and other service providers. The fund is…

Frontier Advisors has expanded its quantitative investment team to eight people with the recruitment of Marcus Nelson, who starts tomorrow (it’s a public holiday in Victoria today). Nelson was previously with the Melbourne hedge fund manager Kaiser Trading Group. Kaiser was formed by former NAB trader Anthony Kaiser and NAB currency manager Karl O’Shaughnessy in…

A strong focus on governance standards is the key to successful investing in emerging markets (EM), according to the principals of a new specialist EM investment manager, Remerga. Remerga’s first fund, the ‘Emerging Markets Sustainable Leaders Fund’, offers access to a concentrated portfolio of stocks in across the emerging markets. Remerga makes its stock selection…

The insurance industry has responded to criticism of the Life Insurance Code of Practice, with an industry group getting to work to address one of its biggest shortcomings – the lack of coverage of super fund trustees. The Insurance in Superannuation Working Group released a discussion paper last week as a first step towards extending…

Forcing New Zealand Government funds to sell down holdings in collective investment vehicles (CIVs) to avoid controversial companies could “result in potentially material costs”, according to a NZ Treasury analysis published last week. Published under Official Information Act (OIA) rules, the April 2016 Treasury report on the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) and New Zealand Superannuation…

By Michael Gordon* The rise of passive management is one of the greatest and probably most significant trends in asset management in recent years. The case for passive investing is well known and is hard to refute. However, there are hidden costs. Not just for investors, but for whole economies too. The lure of lower…

With the help of record flows into index funds in their various forms – smart beta, RAFI funds, scientifically designed funds, high frequency trading funds and good old-fashioned market-cap indices-matching funds – you would think that this would be a stock-picker’s dream. But it’s not, yet. Simon Savage, director of alternative beta at Man Group,…

As ETF investing continues to rise around the world, a big proportion of recent flows is going into fixed income products. In the first two-and-a-half months of this year alone, US$14 billion of a total of US$37 billion flowing into ETFs went to bond funds. The ETF growth phenomenon, until recently concentrated in the retail,…

Graham Rich’s Portfolio Construction Forum has expanded its reach in investor education with an arrangement with the University of Technology Sydney’s former Paul Woolley Centre, now known as the UTS Investment Management Research Program. The UTS program, still to be run by Professor Ron Bird, who set up the Paul Woolley Centre in Australia, includes…