AMP Capital is set to close one fund and rejig the investment strategy for three others that were caught up in a 2008 property-related freeze-out. According to the February 9, 2015, version of the AMP Investment Fund (AIF) prospectus, which covers 23 AMP Capital products, as at April 16 this year the group will close… [Read More…]
There can be only one: ACC to cut custodian
At least one of the $30 billion plus Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) investment fund’s two custodians is set to lose out as the government-owned entity tidies its back-office. In a winner-takes-all contest, ACC’s incumbent custodians – JP Morgan and Northern Trust – will have to fend off external applicants as well as each other to… [Read More…]
Nikko Australia head says sayonara
By Greg Bright* Mike Davis, the managing director and country head of Nikko Asset Management in Australia, has resigned after three years at the helm. Davis was also a director of Nikko’s New Zealand business. His tenure involved an integration of the former Tyndall business and an internationalisation of the Nikko business. He will remain… [Read More…]
Another KiwiSaver scheme sinks below horizon
The KiwiSaver provider list has shrunk again following the decision of another industry-based scheme to shut its doors. In a newsletter sent to members in January, the tiny New Zealand Harbours KiwiSaver scheme revealed it would close to new members citing “increasing level of compliance costs and the slow growth in membership numbers and asset… [Read More…]
Australian financial services exports to NZ up 60% in two years
Australian financial services exports to New Zealand grew by almost 60 per cent from 2011 to 2013 while traffic the other way was virtually stagnant, the latest statistics show. A report published by Australian funds management and insurer industry body, the Financial Services Council (FSC), last December reveals the sector’s exports to New Zealand jumped… [Read More…]
ASB funds rev up, costs down; Aegis cracks $10bn
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) owned ASB reported funds management income of $69 million in the 12 months to December 2014, according to the group’s half-yearly results published last week, up 16 per cent compared to the previous annual period. In the 2013 calendar year ASB earned $60 million from its funds business, which… [Read More…]
Savvy boomers to drive fee compression, Scottish manager predicts
Funds management fees globally will continue to drop as wealthy, time-rich and computer-savvy retirees apply consumer pressure on the sector, according to Alan McFarlane, head of the Edinburgh-headquartered Dundas Global Investors. On a promotional tour in New Zealand last week, McFarlane said while fund fees have come off slightly in recent years the price drop… [Read More…]
Milford outs itself as FMA ‘high profile’ target
Milford Asset Management is the ‘high-profile’ funds management firm subject to a Financial Markets Authority (FMA) investigation, the company confirmed today. In a statement, Milford said it is “co-operating fully” with the FMA to clarify the actions of “an individual trader employed by the firm and certain specific trades”. It is understood the investigation is… [Read More…]
This week IN NZ…
As Investment News NZ (IN NZ) goes to press for the first time a scandal is engulfing part of the very industry it aims to cover. From a journalistic perspective, of course, the alleged Financial Markets Authority (FMA) investigation of a ‘high profile’ fund manager for market manipulation is a dream; for the industry itself,… [Read More…]
Mercer wins shoot-out for Defence Force super contract
It is understood Mercer has won an implemented consulting mandate for the $340 million plus New Zealand Defence Force Superannuation Fund (NZDF). Under the deal Mercer will replace current investment managers ANZ and AMP Capital in one of New Zealand’s largest remaining stand-alone superannuation schemes. The NZDF will also end its existing investment consultancy agreement… [Read More…]