Research Affiliates, the California-based smart-beta manager, has produced an interesting paper questioning several key assumptions about the relationship between the US dollar and the economic and market performance of emerging markets. Is the stronger greenback really bad news? The paper says there are three ‘myths’ which investors often believe are true: . Higher US yields… [Read More…]
I SEE the future: Sorted to get sorted under proposed digital enhancement
The Commission for Financial Capability (CFFC) is planning a major shake-up for its Sorted website, aiming to build a more “personalised experience” for users. In a request for proposal (RFP) lodged on the GETS government procurement site late in July, the CFFC called for tenders to reboot Sorted for the modern age and under a… [Read More…]
Vale Roger Greville: industry pays tribute to former AMP Capital NZ boss
New Zealand’s funds management industry is mourning the loss last week of one of its most influential and successful figures, former head of AMP Capital, Roger Greville. Greville, who died in Queenstown on August 10 after a skiing accident, was a friend and mentor to many in the New Zealand funds business – more than… [Read More…]
Kerr to depart Workplace Savings after 12 years in top job
Bruce Kerr has resigned as head of Workplace Savings New Zealand after more than a decade heading the employer superannuation peak body. Kerr, who announced his resignation at last week’s Workplace Savings conference in Wellington, said he was stepping aside to focus on his licensed independent trustee (LIT) duties. “2016 is going to be a… [Read More…]
Youth KiwiSaver revolt kicks in, FUM pushes $30bn
Just two months after the government cancelled the $1,000 kickstart sign-on payment, KiwiSaver growth in the 24-and-under market has fallen off a cliff, according to the latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) statistics. The July IRD figures show the number of younger KiwiSaver members has gone backwards over the month, with 1,888 fewer in the 0-17… [Read More…]
Regulator publishes post-Milford laundry list for fund managers
In the wake of its Milford Asset Management investigation, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has released a guide for fund managers on how to mitigate market misconduct risks. The FMA information sheet, published last week, is an addendum to the regulator’s earlier licensing guidelines for managed investment schemes (MIS) under the Financial Markets Conduct Act…. [Read More…]
Not enough responsible NZ managers, report says
Local funds management firms have been slow to back global ethical investing principles, according to the Responsible Investment Association Australasia’s (RIAA) first stand-alone report on the New Zealand market. The RIAA ‘Responsible investment benchmark report 2015’ NZ edition (which in previous years was incorporated in the Australian report) found only nine fund managers, representing a… [Read More…]
How to predict a crash and assess market ‘honesty’: CIFR conference
The Centre for International Finance and Regulation held a celebratory two-day conference in Sydney last week to coincide with the 30th anniversary of seminal research by two legendary academics – professors A.S. ‘Pete’ Kyle and Lawrence R. Glosten. Kyle, billed as a future Noble laureate, is currently studying the predictability of stock market crashes. Kyle… [Read More…]
New NZ private asset trading platform targets global opportunities
Despite just launching in New Zealand, start-up online trading platform, Syndex, is already eyeing up offshore markets, according to company co-founder and managing director, Mike Jenkins. Jenkins said Syndex, which bills itself as a “peer-to-peer” exchange for listing, trading and managing “proportionally-owned assets”, is in talks with various parties in other jurisdictions including Australia and… [Read More…]
Towards a new industry standard in alternative beta
Lars Jaeger, a scientist who made his name in the investment world developing alternative beta strategies, has a big new mission. He is helping the global asset manager GAM, of which he is head of quantitative research in the Alternative Investment Solutions team, to build a platform of alternative risk premia as an industry standard. Jaeger, visiting Australia last week,… [Read More…]