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Citi has strengthened its Australian transitions management team at a time when other big players in the US and Europe, in particular, are shuttering or reducing their services in this area due to low activity volumes. Citi has recruited former Mercer consultant Sandeep Gurkhi who was, most recently, at State Street as vice president, portfolio…

Investment banks should be given more credit for their marketing genius. Goldman Sachs invented the term “BRIC” in 2001 and this developed into a fully fledged organization. More recently, last October, Bank of America Merrill Lynch came up with the term the “Great Rotation” and now this is taking over global investment dialogue. The actual…

“You do nothing by halves either to your enemies or friends.” (Lord Minto to Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson, 18th May 1803) Much has and will be written about the extraordinary man who was Horatio Nelson, his battles, his personal life and his management style. Little is written about Admiral Pierre-Charles de Villeneuve. He was the opposing…

Rob Prugue, head of Lazard Asset Management Asia Pacific, has been seconded for his third pan Asia “tour of duty” as Lazard further expands its Asian presence into Singapore. As with Lazard’s Sydney, Tokyo, and Seoul offices, Singapore will exercise Lazard’s “three pillars”: domestic product for domestic clients; domestic product for offshore clients; and, imported global product…

Russell Clarke, Mercer’s global CIO for “mainstream assets” is to return home to Melbourne as CIO for the Pacific, while his former boss in London, global CIO Andrew Kirton, has become head of Mercer Investments’ European business. Mercer did not announce last week whether the two London-based CIO roles would be filled. The Australian-based CIO…

William Blair, the US-based multi-asset class manager which opened an Australian office this year, will do the same in China soon to help better understand the way emerging markets are changing and how to capitalize on long-term investment opportunities there and elsewhere. Jeff Urbina, one of William Blair’s founders in international investing, who runs the…

Investors with a strong ESG emphasis should not ignore the world’s second-largest economy – China – notwithstanding the country’s poor form with human rights and, until recently at least, unsatisfactory labor conditions. Nathan Lim, portfolio manager in charge of international equities for Australian Ethical, says that with a globalized supply chain there is more opportunity…

SuperRatings has formalized its consulting work with the appointment of Adam Gee, former superannuation services director at KPMG, to the new position of head of the consulting division. Nathan MacPhee, SuperRatings CEO, said: “For the last decade SuperRatings has consistently undertaken consulting projects on behalf of clients, but we have never marketed our consulting services…

Computershare has notified clients and ‘handcuffed’ key staff in its retail unit registry business after a decision to exit the business once all existing contracts are honoured. The decision exposes a severe lack of infrastructure in the administration of retail managed funds in Australia. Computershare, one of the world’s largest share registry companies, has provided…

The next wave of member-directed investments available through big super funds is likely to include bundled model portfolio-style options and even tailored annuity-style retirement products. The aim is to provide maximum choice and member control of underlying assets through the full range of super fund offerings. FNZ, which has provided the member-directed platform for several…

Australia’s chief executive, Rob Goodlad, and Boston-based chief investment officer for global equities, Ali Lowe, are the most senior casualties in the firm’s restructure designed to provide greater depth in its alternatives and fixed income offerings around the world. Goodlad has already left, after 14 years with SSgA, and Lowe will leave at the end…

Australian superannuation funds drive a much harder bargain when it comes to fees on funds management and other investment services, compared to their international counterparts, according to Tim Barron, senior vice president and chief investment officer at Segal Rogerscasey.  “I always figured that Australians really immigrated from Ireland because they’re so cheap,” he told attendees…