Colonial First State Global Asset Management today starts the rebranding of its business with the new name First Sentier Investors. This follows the completion of its sale last month to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. The new owner is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG), an $800 billion manager,… [Read More…]
Archives for 2019
Structural issues key in FSLAA world
Business structure will matter more in the long term than regulatory box-ticking ahead of the looming new financial advisory regime, according to compliance specialist, Steven Burgess. Burgess, Compliance Refinery founder, said while the Financial Services Legislation Amendment Act (FSLAA) transitional licensing process – due to start in just over a month – appeared relatively simple,… [Read More…]
PRI’s record Paris conference, leaders group launch
UN PRI’s annual conference in Paris last week attracted a record 1,700 attendees among asset owners and managers, including nearly 100 from Australian and New Zealand, also a record. It included the formation of an asset owner ‘leaders’ group’. There were three major themes to emerge from the conference, according to long-time PRI supporter and… [Read More…]
ASB puts impact investing on KiwiSaver menu
ASB has entered the impact investing game with a new fund available via its KiwiSaver and retail product suite. The ASB Positive Impact Fund (PIF), which officially launched in July, invests in international equities and global fixed income through vehicles managed by Mercer and Vanguard, respectively. According to ASB disclosure documents, the PIF has a… [Read More…]
Registry head departs TE; Public Trust replaces corporate trustee leader; FMA boards up
Trustees Executors (TE) head of registry, Leah Pearless, has left the business after a more than 11-year career with the Wellington-based firm. Pearless, who joined TE as registry operations manager in 2008, had been in her current role since June 2017. Previously, she spent three years at BNP Paribas in Wellington as service delivery manager…. [Read More…]
Onward Sargon soldiers with Christian NZ win
The Sargon Australia-owned Heritage Trustees has revealed a third corporate supervisor client after winning the gig at $180 million non-bank deposit-taker, Christian Savings. Heritage replaced Covenant Trustees in the role this June, ahead of securing its first investment scheme clients, Kōura Wealth and Kernel Wealth. (Christian Savings is not to be confused with the Anglican-run… [Read More…]
Australian regulator foreshadows NZ product reforms
As the NZ government mulls over new proposals to expand Financial Markets Authority (FMA) powers, the post Royal Commission (RC) Australian financial regulator offers a glimpse of the future for this side of the Tasman. Sean Hughes, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) commissioner, delivered the hardline message in a speech late in August framed… [Read More…]
Back-office business builds blockchain bible
Global financial market infrastructure firm Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) has laid out a chapter-and-verse governance model for the nascent blockchain universe. In a just-published white paper produced with consultancy giant, Accenture, DTCC establishes eight commandments for running ‘permissioned’ blockchains – also known as distributed ledger technology (DLT). Unlike the headline-grabbing blockchain antics of… [Read More…]
Disruptor emptor: the cashflow caveat for new model investors
Simon Steele has put disruption in its place. According to the AMP Capital head of global equities, disruption is “simply a modern-day term for the change to a longstanding phenomenon that has underpinned economic development for a period of time”. In a recent paper, Steele says while technology-enabled disruption remains a “key investment theme in… [Read More…]
Pension funds stumble in 2018, rough ground ahead
Global pension funds ended a three-year winning streak during the 2018 calendar year with assets under management (AUM) going backwards for the first time since 2015. According to the Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI) annual survey of the world’s 300 largest pension funds, total AUM slid by 0.4 per cent over the year compared to a… [Read More…]