KiwiSaver member growth is continuing at a solid clip with total membership edging 2.5 million, according to the latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) statistics. Over the previous 12 months KiwiSaver member numbers grew 7.5 per cent to hit almost 2.49 million as at the end of March 2015, the IRD figures show. The membership figure… [Read More…]
Small DIMS get bigger under last-minute regulatory upgrade
Small-to-medium discretionary investment management service (DIMS) providers could be granted a reprieve under new threshold levels proposed by the financial regulator. The new proposals, sent out to the market last week by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), substantially lift the retail funds under management cut-off levels across all three tiers of the mooted DIMS regulatory… [Read More…]
Custodians wary of indigestion in ‘unique time for activity’
BNP Paribas Securities Services has won its biggest super fund client, the $50 billion UniSuper, in what is a “unique time for activity” for the asset servicing sector. More is to come with a record value of tenders having hit or about to hit the market. The BNP Paribas deal announced last week followed a… [Read More…]
Stewart taps wholesale investors for $2.25m to launch variable annuity
Former Axa NZ and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) chief, Ralph Stewart, has embarked on a final round of capital-raising, seeking $2.25 million to help fund the country’s first variable annuity business, scheduled for launch this June. Under the offer, up to 45 wholesale investors can subscribe for parcels of 50,000 shares, at $1 per share,… [Read More…]
Asset allocation up for grabs, NZIER
Most asset classes are “fairly priced to moderately expensive”, according to an analysis by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER). “… it is difficult to find broad asset class value opportunities in the current environment,” the NZIER report says. “European equities are the main exception”. NZIER also cautions against sovereign and “sovereign-like” bond… [Read More…]
New LIC to join ASX fund product flow
Perennial will add to the resurgence of the Australian listed investment company (LIC) sector with the float of its Wealth Defender fund on the ASX next month. The Australian fund manager confirmed the listing last week after raising the A$50 million minimum in pre-float capital-raising – some of which came from New Zealand investors, according… [Read More…]
Good governance 4: why trustees must believe it or not
Investment beliefs, most of which are implicit, guide the behaviour of every investor. However, Mark Weaver, Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) principal, explains how trustees can save a lot of trouble by explicitly documenting their beliefs Establishing a set of investment beliefs often seems like a strange and unnecessary exercise at the outset. But time… [Read More…]
Eliffe returns at NZ’s biggest funds manager…
Renowned NZ equities manager Guy Eliffe, has resurfaced in a top institutional job just three months after being ditched by AMP Capital. Eliffe, made redundant this January by AMP Capital NZ after almost a decade heading the manager’s local equities team, joined the Accident Compensation Commission (ACC) as corporate governance manager investments last week. An… [Read More…]
… as former boss exits stage left
Exiting AMP Capital NZ chief, Graham Law, is leaving the business after a torrid six years at the helm. In a statement released to clients last week, AMP Capital said Grant Hassell would assume Law’s managing director role as at April 30 in addition to current responsibilities as head of fixed income. Law’s departure follows… [Read More…]
IMF calls for prudential oversight of global funds industry
Institutional investors are less prone than retail funds to market-distorting behavioural quirks, according to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, which nonetheless recommends greater prudential oversight of the industry globally. The IMF report, titled ‘The asset management industry and financial stability’ study, published early this month, found institutional investors “appear to be less influenced… [Read More…]