Uncategorized

Vaccine trial restart boosts markets, ASX strength to continue, COVID-19 impacting Macquarie Group A positive lead from Wall Street and news that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE:AZN) had resumed their vaccine trial sent the ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) 0.7% higher on Monday. Positive news on the vaccine front support the energy and industrial sectors amid hope of a…

Pacific Equity Partners is looking to acquire 100% of the Citadel Group (ASX: CGL) in  a transaction worth $503 million. PEP is planning to provide funding to help Citadel expand its global footprint and to develop new products in specialist software and critical-secure information management for its customers in healthcare, defence and national security, government…

The $52 billion health sector focused industry fund HESTA announced the appointment of Alan Sheen as head of portfolio management this week. Sheen comes direct from the private sector, leaving the absolute-return firm he founded, Dalton Street Capital, to add further depth and support HESTA’s ambitious growth plans. Sheen will report directly to CIO Sonya…

“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” as Bugs Bunny would say. This is exactly what NAB and CBA have done to take on the Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) phenomenon. NAB was the first to launch its new StraightUp credit card, which is aimed at millennials by offering interest-free purchases on credit anywhere that accepts Visa. Credit…

JANA Investment Advisers, Australia’s largest asset consulting firm, is expanding its insurance business, which until now has been most developed in the health insurance sector, with the creation of a new role as ‘head of insurance strategy’, to be filled by Greg Wilkinson. Wilkinson, currently a senior consultant and a member of JANA’s global equities…

The SMSF Association have launched a comprehensive series of online modules as they seek to evolve the delivery of the SMSF Specialist Advisory (SSA) designation. The highly coveted designation requires an extensive amount of knowledge across taxation and superannuation law, which has traditionally been delivered through short study guides culminating in a detailed examination. The…

Although the economic shutdown in Melbourne has put a dampener on property transactions, the world continues outside Victoria, with several major transactions as we pass through September. Specialist property fund manager Castlerock has added another key regional property to its Auslink Property Trust (No.2), spending more than $55 million to acquire the property at 45…

With climate change being increasingly recognised as a systemic risk, the investment community is becoming more focused on supporting the transition to a net-zero-emissions economy and establishing sound transition plans.   The announcement by Cbus Super is the most recent example. Last month, the $54 billion building and construction industry superfund launched a new Climate Change…

Financial advisers around the world are rightly concerned about the state of markets, with record-high prices for both equities and bonds. As previously reported, according to an Investment Trends survey of Australian investors, there has been a jump in the frequency of communications between advisers and their clients in Australia since COVID-19 hit home in…

Sell off extends to four weeks, tech takes a breather, a win for ESG The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) fell to a nine-week loss before finishing down 0.8% for the day and 1.1%; making it the fourth straight week of losses. The selling pressure was centred around financials, falling 1.2%, as geopolitical confrontations with China have…

Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) today announced that CEO Jean-Sebastian Jacques; head of iron ore, Chris Salisbury; and head of corporate affairs, Simone Niven, will be stepping down from their roles following the Juukan Gorge incident. While someone losing their job should never been seen as a positive, is this the first high-profile ‘win’ for the…

ASX holds onto gains, retail pain on show at Myer (ASX:MYR), another sell off to end the week The ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) managed to stave off weakness in the afternoon, finishing 0.5%, despite a much stronger lead from the US markets. The telecommunications and materials sectors including the likes of Telstra (ASX:TLS) and BHP (ASX:BHP)…