Milford chief, Troy Swann, will leave the firm at the end of the year. In a note to clients, Swann says he was returning “home to Australia to be closer to family” “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Milford and am very proud to have been a part of what Milford has delivered to… [Read More…]
Archives for 2018
UK mega-manager lined up for new Mercer global index fund
Mercer is to launch a passive global equities fund backed by one of Europe’s biggest investment managers as the index trend gathers pace in NZ. The almost-completed Mercer index fund will use UK-headquartered investment behemoth Legal & General (L&G) as underlying manager. L&G is little-known in NZ but the financial services firm, founded in 1836,… [Read More…]
Merger-arb merry-go-round at NZ Super
The NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) has swapped out one merger-arbitrage manager for another following the appointment of US-headquartered Neuberger Berman to a $315 million mandate. Neuberger fills the spot previously occupied by Ramius Advisors, which was recently sacked from its $315 million NZS merger arbitrage gig just two years after appointment. NZS declined to comment… [Read More…]
Clicking Awesome! All the Greatest Hits, Vol 3, 2018
For the first time. All the biggest Investment News NZ (IN NZ) stories of 2018 have been assembled in one spectacular list! Incredibly, this year the TOP 10 IN NZ greatest hits does not feature a starring performance from a platform player. Not even the $2.3 billion price paid for two-thirds of FNZ in October… [Read More…]
CFSGAM sale not a factor in ASB $3bn Vanguard move
The recent sale of Australian parent bank’s asset management business to a Japanese firm did not influence the decision to award Vanguard a $3 billion Australasian equities mandate, according to ASB head of wealth, Jonathan Beale. In October ASB owner, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, sold the A$231 billion Colonial First State Global Asset Management… [Read More…]
Financial consulting firm boots-up staff numbers as tech demand rockets
Auckland-headquartered financial technology consulting and implementation firm, Mosaic, has added half a dozen staff over the last few months as the digital transformation trend sweeps over the NZ industry. Myles Allan, founding partner of the firm officially known as Mosaic Financial Services Infrastructure, said businesses across the sector were under pressure to update their technology… [Read More…]
Asset servicing transition hurdles after two key departures
The two most important people involved in the transitions of the two largest asset servicing contracts currently on the move have, coincidentally, departed their respective firms. Next year is going to be a little more difficult than several fund operations people had expected. At Suncorp, which is transitioning about $20-25 billion from NAB Asset Servicing… [Read More…]
FSC mulls alternative future for KiwiSaver, funds and advice
A new Financial Services Council (FSC) report has tipped KiwiSaver schemes were primed to invest more into alternative assets despite technical difficulties. “KiwiSaver fund managers have also reported that uniform valuation methods are not used for private equity investments leading to differing unit pricing valuation methodologies and liquidity requirements provided challenges to making significant investments… [Read More…]
Fund hack: how journalists could have the answers (and the questions)
Journalists could provide fund managers with a new source of alpha as traditional investment information becomes increasingly commodified, a just-published AMP Capital paper argues. The article, authored by Sydney-based AMP Capital portfolio manager, Trent Loi, says technology has both increased the availability of information and the speed at which it “gets arbitraged away”. “… anyone… [Read More…]
Brexit a bigger worry than you think
Even before last week’s political strife in the UK over Brexit, big global investors were concerned about the growing systemic risks, according to the latest international risk survey by DTCC, the post-trade infrastructure provider. The slower-than-expected negotiating progress between the UK and European Union and the ongoing uncertainty of the outcome has positioned Brexit as… [Read More…]