Market conditions have shifted dramatically in recent months. But while growth strategies have suffered significant pain, value investors are finally proving their bona fides. While total returns for value investing have been reasonable – annualizing 12 per cent over the decade to 31 May – value investors have still struggled to match the stratospheric returns… [Read More…]
Investment News
Dimensional plates up global shares PIEs for NZ investors
Factor investing giant Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) has launched its first global equities strategy structured for NZ investors. Under a fund-hosting arrangement with the Wellington-based Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS), local investors now have access to the DFA Global Sustainability Fund in a portfolio investment entity (PIE) wrapper – in either hedged or unhedged flavours. The… [Read More…]
FNZ NZ tops $25bn, confirms $40m Hatch price, carves out local operations
FNZ ended 2021 with more than $25 billion of assets under administration (AUA) in NZ, a new direct-to-consumer platform priced at $40 million and flat profits just above par. Post balance date the company also restructured its NZ operations, separating out the local business from previous regional related parties. According to the just-filed FNZ annual… [Read More…]
New chief for Whai Rawa fund
The $120 million Whai Rawa investment scheme has named Sam Kellar to replace long-time general manager, David Tikao. Kellar most recently served as PwC senior compliance manager for about 16 months following almost seven years in a similar position at ASB. Prior to ASB he spent about six years with AMP, firstly as an investment… [Read More…]
Russell TCFD report finds markets under-pricing climate change
Financial markets have not yet factored in a transition – either rapid or staggered – to a low-carbon world, according to the inaugural Russell Investments Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) global portfolio report. The Russell TCFD analysis notes valuation of its sample portfolio (representing close to US$105 billion or almost half of the group’s… [Read More…]
When information is advice: SEC queries benchmarkers legal status
The US financial regulator has earmarked the increasingly more powerful index market for closer scrutiny under a consultation launched last week. In a request for comment, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) notes financial market indexers along with model portfolio operators and “pricing services” may have veered from information provision to offering investment advice. Typically,… [Read More…]
One-unit, one-vote: BlackRock pushes for proxy democracy
BlackRock has expanded proxy-voting powers to institutional investors in the UK, Canada and Ireland after a successful roll-out of the program in the US at the beginning of this year. In a release last week, the US$10 trillion investment powerhouse said the ‘Voting Choice’ option now applies to 95 per cent “of our institutional index… [Read More…]
Valuation back in style (with new accessories)
Traditional asset valuation metrics will rise to the fore again as the market cycle turns into a familiar phase but with a different twist, according to MFS chief investment strategist, Robert Almeida. In a presentation to the Morningstar Australia conference earlier this month, Almeida said that “investing is simple but hard” where factors such as… [Read More…]
Impact fund rebalances as market wobbles
Specialist UK-based impact investment firm, WHEB, has upped its fund turnover amid recent market volatility, according to associate portfolio manager, Victoria MacLean. On a whistle-stop tour of NZ last week, MacLean said the WHEB fund saw a higher level of buys and sells than normal as the manager repositioned the strategy during the first quarter… [Read More…]
A ‘Cambrian explosion’ of assets: why State Street went digital
While institutions are yet to make the jump into cryptocurrencies, State Street’s move to launch its first new division in 40 years shows that a whole new universe of assets is here to stay. “It’s very hard to find somebody that’s neutral about cryptocurrencies,” Nadine Chakar, global head of State Street Digital, told ASI on… [Read More…]