This week’s Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) New Zealand conference is a ‘sold-out’ affair, according to the organisation’s local rep and head of third-party fund marketing firm The Investment Store, Matthew Mimms. Mimms, who has helped pull together the Kiwi leg of the RIAA conference since its inception, said the 2015 conference would be the… [Read More…]
Another resignation as FSC insurance report upsets insurer
Growing dissent in Financial Services Council (FSC) ranks has seen another high-profile resignation this week with insurer Partners Life making its way to the exit. As originally reported on Investment News NZ (IN NZ) on November 2, AMP resigned the insurance and investment industry body earlier this year, with the 12-month notice period due to… [Read More…]
Regulator snaffles NZ Super portfolio point man
New Zealand Super Fund (NZS) head of portfolio intelligence, Paul Gregory, has resigned to take up the last remaining top executive spot at the recently-restructured financial regulator. After a six-year career at NZS, Gregory will begin life as director of external communications and investor resources for the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) on November 23. He… [Read More…]
IIS makes billion-dollar breakthrough
Less than five years after inception the Wellington-based Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) has raced to more than $1 billion in funds under management, according to managing director, Anthony Edmonds. Breaching the billion-dollar barrier – or achieving ‘full bar status’ in industry parlance – is a significant step for any NZ-based firm. “Despite committing considerable resources… [Read More…]
Surveys find fund performers all over the show
Despite a tough quarter for investors, most KiwiSaver funds were still in positive territory for the year, according to the latest consultant surveys. However, both the Aon Hewitt and Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) September quarter surveys found a wide dispersion of returns among managers, particularly in the growth sector. According to the MJW survey, over… [Read More…]
Kickstart vibe-killer effect lingers on
KiwiSaver sign-ups have dipped again over September to an all-time low, falling to less than half the rate recorded in the month prior to the removal of the $1,000 ‘kickstart’ incentive. According to the latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) statistics, total KiwiSaver membership grew by 8,087 during September compared to over 17,000 in May. The… [Read More…]
Over 40 switch on DIMS as December deadline looms
Just over 40 discretionary investment management service (DIMS) licences had been granted by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) as of last week with only a handful left to be processed in time for the December 1 regime change date. In June the regulator said it had received only 44 DIMS licence applications by the May… [Read More…]
Managers, advisers dip into crowd-surfing share platform
Newly-launched NZ ‘crowd-sourced’ stock research platform Shareclarity has piqued the interest of some local fund managers, according to founder, Daniel Kieser. “Several of the smaller funds with limited research budgets/resources have been using it to screen stocks and take a deeper look at certain companies,” Kieser said. “Being smaller means funds can more easily build… [Read More…]
What the NAB Asset Servicing deal with Citi means
To be honest, the NAB Asset Servicing/Citi deal probably means more to those organisations, at least in the short term, than it does to their customers. But longer term, there are a range of new possibilities. Matt Brown of NAS and Martin Carpenter of Citi talk – just a little – about the deal. The… [Read More…]
Towers Watson global fund report: why it’s tough in the middle
The mid tier funds market globally is facing an unprecedented squeeze, according to the latest Towers Watson/Pension & Investments survey of the world’s top 500 asset managers. In a statement, Luba Nikulina, global head of research at Towers Watson Investment, said the 2014 ‘World 500’ study found for the first time “asset growth at the… [Read More…]