Uncategorized

(pictured: Kevin O’Sullivan, MC Pauline Vamos and Warren Chant; Mark Delaney; Andrew Howard, REST, and Scott Hartley, Sunsuper) The Australian super fund industry is held up as a model for the rest of the world but “in true Australian fashion” we tend to talk down its achievements, according to Warren Chant. The Chant West Awards…

(pictured: Julian Poulter) Australian super funds have been ranked third in the world overall for taking action on climate change, with 10 of our funds getting into the top decile of the annual ‘Climate 500 Index’ of big funds published by the Asset Owners Disclosure Project. Local Government Super was ranked second in the world and…

(pictured: Hersh Gandhi) The global financial crisis prompted significant change among the world’s alternative fund managers – a move to greater liquidity, a move to a more institutional client base and a move to more diversification and customisation of investment offerings. The Man Group, the world’s largest listed alternatives manager, provides an interesting case study in…

(pictured: Niall Ferguson) Renowned UK financial historian, Niall Ferguson, will make his New Zealand debut next week in a one-time-only deal at the Portfolio Construction Forum (PCF) Symposium in Auckland, ahead of a series of meetings in Australia. In a coup for the Graham Rich-run PCF, Ferguson – author of 14 books including the bestseller-cum-TV series…

(pictured: Sandra Urie) Sandra Urie is to step down as chair and chief executive of global asset consultant Cambridge Associates after 25 years with the firm, but will remain, at least part-time, working with clients in the role as “chairman emeritus”. She hopes to devote more time to impact investing, which is a personal passion. Urie…

(pictured: Jon Howie) BlackRock has cut the management fee on two of its most popular ETFs in the package launched last week as a ‘core’ offering designed for new investors to the ETF market. Jon Howie, the head of iShares Australia, said that in ‘Act I’, relatively sophisticated investors used iShares, with about 50 per cent…

(pictured: Alex Vynokur) AMP Capital and BetaShares have formed an alliance to launch a range of active ETFs. This follows the success of the launch late last year of Magellan’s global active ETF and, according to BetaShares, marks the new generation of exchange-traded products (ETPs). AMP Capital and BetaShares will launch the first three ETPs under their alliance on the…

(pictured: Ugo Lancioni) Neuberger Berman is introducing a new concept in currency hedging which it calls the “Dynamic Ideal Hedge Ratio”. It integrates dynamic or active management within a total portfolio’s risk management, which tends to reduce individual manager risk and style risk. In a paper written by three of its specialists the manager says currency…

(pictured: Bob Henricks) Bob Henricks has retired as chair of Queensland’s Energy Super and a career battling for worker and member rights. Arguably one of the most influential trustees in the country, Henricks is, however, considering other board appointments. Brian Delaney* looks at the man behind the industry legend. It is easy to underestimate Bob Henricks. His…

(pictured: Peter Hele) NAB Asset Servicing has won the custodial services contract for specialist real estate investment manager APN Property Group for its suite of real estate securities funds, which total about $2.4 billion. The listed APN manages both A-REITs and direct property funds on behalf of both institutional and retail investors. Peter Hele, NAB Asset…

Robo-advice and blockchain innovations will out-disrupt peer-to-peer lending and crowd-funding platforms over the long term, a new global survey of CFA members has found. The survey of more than 3,800 CFA members worldwide found 40 per cent of respondents tipped robo-advice as having the most impact on financial services in five years time. A further…

(pictured: Cliff Asness) With the rise of factor investing and smart-beta strategies so, too, have come some new risks, such as the temptation to “factor time” and the increasing weight of money possibly leading to more market crashes. A new paper by Cliff Asness warns against “the siren song of factor timing”. Asness, a founder and…