Archives for 2019

The NZX has forecast funds under administration (FUA) in its investment platform could hit $50 billion by 2023 with 80 per cent of that target already lined up in potential deals. According to the group’s half-year report released last week, the currently $2.1 billion NZX Wealth Technologies platform has $40 billion of prospective FUA negotiations… [Read More…]

The $42 billion NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) is close to making a “sizeable” allocation to new factor strategies, according to chief economist, Mike Frith. Frith said after running a relatively small factor exposure through external managers AQR and Northern Trust over the last couple of years, NZS has “built confidence” in the approach. While the… [Read More…]

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has formally licensed three new robo-advice providers under the current exemption process including the new KiwiSaver kid on the block, Kōura Wealth. As revealed here last week, Kōura – part-owned by Hobson Wealth – plans to launch a KiwiSaver scheme using “smart technology and best in class investment strategies”. Last… [Read More…]

Former Russell Investments NZ head of institutional, Noah Schiltknecht, has launched a new consulting business targeting small-to-medium wholesale investors. Schiltknecht will trade under the Makao Investments brand, aiming to carve out a niche among the growing family office, charitable trust, advisory firms and iwi markets in NZ. Makao is Māori for shark’s tooth (and is also… [Read More…]

The NZ Anglican Church Pension Board has adopted a new bilingual trading name to highlight the religious group’s broader financial mandate. As of last week, the religious body – which runs a number entities including the Christian KiwiSaver scheme – adopted the Anglican Financial Care/Te Maru Mihinare moniker. In a release, board chair, The Very… [Read More…]

Value will come back. It must do. It’s the most persistent of styles, dating back to the research of Benjamin Graham in the 1930s. Its underperformance cannot go on much longer. Surely. Reece Birtles, admittedly biased towards the style, provides a compelling argument as to why the time is now to dive back in. Birtles,… [Read More…]

BlackRock has laid out the case for a coordinated fiscal and monetary shock policy to defibrillate the global economy as it struggles to register a pulse. In a new paper published last week, the BlackRock Investment Institute argues that with both monetary and fiscal losing potency, more radical approaches – such as the long-mooted ‘helicopter… [Read More…]

These stories, thankfully, don’t come along too often. But they do come along. Here’s an entertaining – assuming you weren’t an investor – example of greed, hubris and a lavish lifestyle. And what better place to bring those factors together than in California? In its latest client note, Castle Hall, the global due diligence firm,… [Read More…]

Both local and offshore players have already made passes at the now officially on-sale again AMP NZ wealth business, according to local chief, Blair Vernon. “A number parties have shown interests in buying the NZ wealth management business,” Vernon said. “We thought it would be sensible to have a formal process around that.” He said… [Read More…]