Dutch quant house, Robeco, is tipping better returns for investors in 2023 but only after markets tumble further over the coming months. In its 2023 investment outlook released last week, Robeco says while inflation, rates and the US dollar are peaking, we’re not quite there yet. “The last leg of a steep climb towards the… [Read More…]
Investment News
Sovereign wealth funds tap external managers for private markets payday
Sovereign wealth funds have hit pause on their internalisation programs as they discover that they aren’t naturals at private markets investing. And inflation and geopolitics are driving allocations to a broad range of alternative assets. The growth in real assets investing is pushing global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) away from the trend of internalising investment… [Read More…]
Viva-la-index: S&P cheers 20 years of passive data
With two decades of data in the bag, the S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&PDJI) benchmark gauge, SPIVA, remains firmly pointing to passive. A new note from SPIVA, an acronym of ‘S&P Indices Versus Active’, says nothing much has changed in 20 years. “Most active managers underperform most of the time,” Craig Lazzara, S&PDJI core product… [Read More…]
NZX buys Craigs fund arm
The NZX has acquired the funds management arm of Craigs Investment Partners, shelling out $31.25 million for the QuayStreet business. QuayStreet has about $1.6 billion under management including $250 million in its KiwiSaver scheme, bringing the Smartshares pool almost to $10 billion: it is also a step away from the Smartshares passive roots as the… [Read More…]
FMA queries managers over crypto-risks
The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has sought assurance from a handful of local fund managers amid concerns of a crypto-currency contagion sparked by the meltdown of the Bahamas-based FTX exchange. In a statement supplied to Investment News NZ, the FMA said it had “engaged with licensed MIS [managed investment scheme] managers who are known to… [Read More…]
Ex van Eyk boss sent to community ‘jail’
Disgraced ex van Eyk Research chief, Mark Thomas, will serve a 15-month home-based ‘prison’ term along with 250 hours of community service following a sentence handed down in the NSW District Court last week. Thomas plead guilty this May to charges of dishonestly using his position as director of van Eyk NZ subsidiary Blueprint Investment… [Read More…]
Kiwi Wealth almost in Fisher bag
Fisher Funds is on track to complete its $310 million takeover of Kiwi Wealth by the end of November after gaining Overseas Investment Office (OIO) approval earlier this month. Bruce McLachlan, Fisher chief, said the Kiwi Wealth deal should settle “in the coming weeks” post the OIO sign-off, paving the way for a conjoined funds… [Read More…]
ASX flushes A$250m down blockchain sinkhole
More than five years and A$250 million later the ASX has binned its controversial blockchain-based replacement settlement system in the wake of a scathing independent report. The Australian stock exchange hired US firm Digital Asset in 2016 to build a new settlement engine using the-then new-fangled blockchain, or distributed ledger technology (DLT) to replace the… [Read More…]
Smartshares crosses borders, wins fund gong
NZ fund managers may have to look offshore for further growth as increasing competition from both local and Australia-based providers squeezes opportunities at home, according to head of the NZX-owned Smartshares, Hugh Stevens. Stevens said the largely passive Smartshares business, which picked up the ResearchIP fund manager of the year award last week, was expanding… [Read More…]
Mint lures responsible leader from Milford, adds another analyst
Rachel Tinkler has joined Mint Asset Management in the newly created role as head of responsible investment. Tinkler comes to Mint following a five-year stint at Milford Asset Management where she most recently served as a sustainable investment analyst. Prior to Milford, the law graduate spent over a year at consultancy firm, PwC, in a… [Read More…]