Investment News

Fixed income has emerged as the number one asset class for sustainable investment purposes, according to a global survey by index house, FTSE Russell. The FTSE Russell poll of 184 large asset owners across the world found more than half of respondents have made fixed income sustainable investment allocations compared to 35 per cent last… [Read More…]

BlackRock has opened the proxy polling booth for individual investors in a small subset of UK managed funds as the investment giant pushes to “democratize [corporate] voting” across the globe. In a letter to clients and CEOs, BlackRock chief, Larry Fink, says the new system extends the group’s Voting Choice program, previously available to asset… [Read More…]

ANZ has reported a 12 per cent year-on-year decline in funds under management (FUM) during the 12 months to the end of September. According to the full-year results for the NZ arm of the Australasian banking giant, the double-digit FUM fall followed a string of events over the period including “the transfer of KiwiSaver default… [Read More…]

Passive investment specialist, Kernel Wealth, has added a dash of active management to the mix with the launch of new balanced and cash funds as the firm taps into fixed income assets for the first time. Kernel founder, Dean Anderson, said newly recruited portfolio manager, Matthew Winton, would run the cash and local bond portfolios… [Read More…]

The once third-largest government-owned investment fund is gearing up for a return to riskier asset classes and growth after lying dormant for over a decade. From a high of about $6.1 billion prior to the 2011 Christchurch disaster, the Earthquake Commission (EQC) – now known as Toka Tū Ake – saw its National Disaster Fund… [Read More…]

Milestone Financial has confirmed Chris Van Rensburg in the newly created position of group relationship manager. Van Rensburg will be responsible for “leading, managing, and growing all aspects of Milestone Financial’s offering to their internal and external stakeholders”, according to a release. Prior to joining Milestone, Van Rensburg has worked in various financial advisory roles… [Read More…]

A lot can change in five years even in the fusty world of corporate trustees. New legislation, technological development, market growth and an increasingly enthusiastic regulator have all conspired to shake-up the NZ corporate trustee sector (now officially known as licensed supervisors) since its first five-yearly review in 2017. And the small but influential band… [Read More…]

‘Maximum convexity’ might be a contender for the next Bond movie if Arif Husain, T Rowe Price head of fixed income, is right. Husain told Australasian investors in a presentation last week that global fixed income markets are probably at the point where dramatic tension tips over into frantic action. “When you’re at the point… [Read More…]

Investors in the new generation of passive ‘thematic’ funds may soon pay the price for an overweight exposure to growth factors as the market rollercoaster loops-the-loop if a new study from Wellington Management is on the right track. Wellington multi-asset portfolio manager, Brian Garvey, and associate director of multi-asset risk oversight, Manny Hunjan argue in… [Read More…]

Investor behaviour in different countries is closely linked with respective retirement savings rules, a new Morningstar study has found. The Morningstar report released last week says investors based in jurisdictions with defined contribution regimes generally have a higher risk tolerance as well as a greater appetite for managed funds and financial advice compared to global… [Read More…]