Global financial benchmark-maker FTSE Russell has released a new female-friendly index series favouring companies with significant board gender diversity. In a statement released last week the London Stock Exchange-owned index provider said FTSE Women on Boards Leadership Index Series would kick off with two products based on UK and US markets. First to roll off… [Read More…]
Archives for 2018
Arriviste KiwiSaver schemes on the charge in 2017
Late model KiwiSaver schemes surged ahead in 2017 with all three of the relatively recent releases climbing the Morningstar funds under management (FUM) rankings in 2017. The Morningstar December 2017 quarter KiwiSaver report released last week shows BNZ, Generate, and Simplicity as the only schemes to rise up the FUM tables during the calendar year…. [Read More…]
Prugue bows out at Lazard; Bargholz exits BT; Wilson bags top Aussie honour
Rob Prugue is retiring as head of Lazard Asset Management’s Asia-Pacific region, including Japan. The highly regarded fund manager is taking a three-month sabbatical, going for a very long walk and contemplating a new direction. Prugue will be leaving Lazard on February 28, after 15 years with the firm. He said in a statement late… [Read More…]
CAF closes as cash PIEs go cold
AMP Capital is formally winding up the once-mighty Cash Advantage Fund (CAF) following an official request from the product’s depository bank, Rabobank. The CAF closure, flagged last year after Rabobank NZ called time on selling managed funds via its online platform, RaboDirect, has been scheduled for February 23 with transactions to be completed by close… [Read More…]
BNP Paribas steals a march in Blockchain developments
BNP Paribas Asset Management and its sister Securities Services business have completed a full end-to-end fund transaction test using Blockchain technology, putting the firm in the front row for custodians when the ASX becomes – probably – the first exchange in the world to adopt distributed ledger technology later this year. The test in Europe… [Read More…]
Legislate to decumulate: how government-managed annuities could work
The NZ government has a pivotal role to play in building better decumulation options in an era when traditional notions of retirement are facing disruption, according to Mercer NZ chief, Martin Lewington. Lewington said as more New Zealanders work past age 65 the government was ideally-placed to provide annuity-like solutions that mesh state-funded pensions, retirement… [Read More…]
Indexes outnumber Mongolians, survey finds
The global investment index population sits at almost 3.3 million, a first-of-a-kind survey has found, placing the sector somewhere between Mongolia and Puerto Rico if it was a nation state. In an inaugural study published late in January, the Index Industry Association (IIA) counted 3.288 million investment indices across its 14 members who collectively manage… [Read More…]
Alternatives attract: why sovereign funds are looking the other way
Sovereign wealth funds (SWF) have significantly upped allocations to alternative assets since 2010 during a period when funds under management leapt about US$3 trillion, new research from global consultancy firm PwC reveals. The PwC study shows the SWF sector lifted exposure to alternative assets from 19 per cent in 2010 to almost a quarter of… [Read More…]
GQG races away with local support for global strategies
GQG Partners, the US-based global equities and emerging markets manager, has raced away with strong support from Australia and New Zealand investors since its launch in 2016. On a visit to Australia last week, founder Rajiv Jain put the early successes down to the firm’s staff ownership and client alignment, as well as the “calibre… [Read More…]
Shares mate: researcher celebrates year with book update, Australian advances
Digital-age stock research firm Shareclarity has released a follow-up edition to its debut ‘Year Book’ of late 2016 featuring detailed information on more than 250 companies listed in NZ, Australia and Hong Kong. The ‘Shareclarity 2018 Year Book’ boasts data on 254 listed companies, an increase of about 70 firms compared to the previous volume… [Read More…]