For as long as there have been performance surveys, starting with Bruce Cook’s Mercer Campbell Cook & Knight in the 1980s, short-termism has been a problem for big super funds. They continually tell themselves not to think that way, but it seems, short-termism is very difficult to avoid. A big international survey undertaken by MFS… [Read More…]
Archives for 2016
Investors beware: trading costs set to rise, says report
When investors think about mean reversion they normally think about asset valuations. They should also think about liquidity, because transaction costs associated with liquidity also mean revert. They are currently at all-time lows and are set to shoot back up. A report by Research Affiliates of the US says that the costs to trade in… [Read More…]
Why the screen may not be clean: rethinking ESG
George Carter, Nikko Asset Management NZ managing director, reflects on the meaning and spirit of ‘ethical investing’ in an age where the labels can often be misleading “That man is richest who … has the widest helpful influence, both personal and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others” Unto this Last, John… [Read More…]
BAU for ANZ wealth NZ as Australia goes on sale
ANZ’s New Zealand wealth arm will be operating a “business as usual” policy despite its trans-Tasman counterpart facing a likely sale, according to a bank spokesperson. “We will be looking at all possible options to ensure we maintain and strengthen our market leading position as New Zealand’s number one fund manager, KiwiSaver provider and third–largest… [Read More…]
Why fee hike could backfire on regulator
The substantial increases in Financial Market Authority (FMA) levies for large fund managers announced last week could have the “perverse” effect of lowering the fees collected by the regulator, according to some industry insiders. Several managers spoken to by Investment News NZ (IN NZ) said the fee rises increased the incentive to divert funds to… [Read More…]
Member ‘matchmaker’ service targets sluggish KiwiSaver transfer market
Automation could reduce KiwiSaver transfers to less than a week from the current month-long process, according to Tony Nejasmic, Calastone head of business development in Australaisa. Nejasmic said the clunky, labour-intensive KiwiSaver member transfer system was ripe for streamlining with a number of providers sounding out Calastone for a solution. Calastone, the UK-based fund processing… [Read More…]
NZ cluster controversy sets off global warning
The KiwiSaver cluster-bomb incident should serve as a warning to other jurisdictions, according to global environmental, social and governance (ESG) research firm, Sustainalytics. In a paper published last week, Sustainalytics says the KiwiSaver cluster-bomb debate – that saw a range of providers ultimately change some underlying index funds – “shows that investors offering passive investment… [Read More…]
Russell goes with GARY, Moore exits
The Russell Investments Global Bond Fund has doubled its in-house exposure after adding a new “strategic positioning” tilt targeting sovereign bonds. According a product announcement released late in October, the Russell fund – which manages about $1.5 billion via the NZ-dollar hedged version – now includes a ‘global adjusted real yield’ (GARY) strategy in addition… [Read More…]
Farrell reviews Suncorp cash and fixed interest mandates
Pat Farrell, the new CIO at Suncorp, in charge of about $20 billion in multi-manager funds, has put the fixed income and cash mandates currently managed by Nikko Asset Management Australia, up for review. Farrell joined Suncorp in late July, following the retirement of Nick Basile. He had previously been the CIO of BT Financial… [Read More…]
Mercer loses equities specialist to Colonial
Richard Cahill, the head of equities research at Mercer Investment Consulting, has left the firm and joined Colonial First State Global Asset Management. The loss of experienced asset consultants to both fund managers and super funds is a worrying industry trend. Cahill is understood to have already joined the big fund manager in a strategic… [Read More…]