Workplace Savings NZ (WSNZ) has closed its Wellington office as behind-the-scenes merger talks with the Auckland-based Financial Services Council (FSC) continue apace. WSNZ, and its predecessor organisation Association of Superannuation Funds of NZ (ASFONZ) founded in 1969, has been based in Wellington for decades, due to its proximity to government and a number of scheme… [Read More…]
‘Augmented custody’ gives BNP Paribas an edge
BNP Paribas Securities Services has started a global program, which it is calling “augmented custody”, which will give it an edge over competitors for speed of actions across a range of investment administration activities. Australian and New Zealand clients will be early beneficiaries. The program follows a systems upgrade and will cover 24 of the… [Read More…]
Global bond managers struggle, KiwiSaver funds diverge
Only two global bond managers outperformed the index over the 12 months to the end of June, according to the latest Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) investment survey. The MJW report, which tracks the performance of wholesale managers in the NZ market as well as KiwiSaver funds, found just AllianceBernstein and the Fisher Funds-fronted Wellington global… [Read More…]
Hodge takes a step back in changing of the guard at PIMCO
Doug Hodge, the PIMCO chief executive who is well known to Australian and Asian investors from his time in the region several years ago, will step down from his position but remain a managing director at the big Newport-based global bond firm. Hodge is relinquishing the chief executive role in favour of new recruit Emmanuel… [Read More…]
Aon on track for Link transfer
Aon has confirmed it will begin shifting its fund administration to Link Market Services from next week. According to the latest Aon KiwiSaver accounts, “planning is underway for the administration to be sub-contracted to Link” for the $370 million scheme from August 1 this year. It is understood Aon’s two biggest external KiwiSaver admin clients… [Read More…]
Adviser allies hit insto dimension
The Boutique Advisers Alliance (BAA) is reaching the scale required to negotiate sharper deals with service providers across the fund value chain, according to Nick Stewart, chair of the group’s investment committee. Stewart, who heads up the Hastings-based advisory firm Stewart Group, said with $350 million of “committed funds”, BAA, which aggregates investments and other… [Read More…]
Mercer gets behind concerns over fee pressure
Mercer chief investment officer Russell Clarke has thrown his weight behind the growing criticism of Australia’s fee obsession. Fees are driving investment decisions and that’s not in the best interests of the end investor, he says. Clarke participated earlier this month in a webinar organised by researcher Stewart Oldfield of Field Research. Clarke said he… [Read More…]
Special Report: last days for AFAs
Following on from the highly-regarded 2013 report, ‘AFA Today’, Investment News NZ (IN NZ) has released a sequel study. Titled ‘Last of the AFAs’, the new IN NZ report details how the top-tier advisory sector has fared over the intervening three years, updating all metrics covered in the previous study. Furthermore, the latest report provides… [Read More…]
Mercer shows investors how to keep managers in line
Investors should put more weight on alignment of interests when hiring or firing fund managers, according to a new Mercer report. While investors necessarily focus on a manager’s investment and operational strength, the study says the “often overlooked” alignment factor provides some important flow-on benefits. For example, the report says closer alignment motivates fund managers… [Read More…]
FMA starts wiring for robo-cop job
Policing robo-advice is a global challenge that was unlikely to be solved by waging “algorithm wars”, according to Financial Markets Authority (FMA) chief, Rob Everett. With the NZ financial regulator poised to take on the robo-cop role under new Financial Adviser Act (FAA) reforms released last week, Everett said the FMA was developing a techno-strategy…. [Read More…]