Investment News

Simplicity has set the stage for the incoming KiwiSaver default era as the first provider to unveil product specifications, opting for a classic 60/40 (or almost) balanced fund asset allocation. According to the just-released Simplicity product disclosure statement, the scheme’s new KiwiSaver default fund follows the same asset allocation as its existing balanced fund –… [Read More…]

Auckland-headquartered investment firm Generate is to double its risk-weighted KiwiSaver fund suite to allow members to adopt more fine-tuned strategies in the coming 12 months. Generate chief, Henry Tongue, told the group’s online KiwiSaver conference last week that the $3 billion plus manager would launch three new funds to fill the risk gaps between the… [Read More…]

Implausible doesn’t mean impossible. But it remains to be seen whether the ‘creative destruction’ ARK Invest is banking on can trump the possibility that we’ve been in a market bubble all along. They’re what legendary investor/prophet of doom Jeremy Grantham calls “super-crazies” – the wildly overvalued assets that start to appear shortly before the bubble… [Read More…]

The Australian funds management industry remains competitive enough but cost efficiencies may not be flowing fully to retail investors as the last link in a long distribution chain, according to the final regulatory report on the sector. Released last week, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) report – carried out by Deloitte Access Economics… [Read More…]

Negative interest rates could be the permanent norm rather than a temporary historical aberration, a new CFA Institute Research Foundation paper argues, with profound consequences for markets and societies. In a 116-page CFA-published ‘monograph’, founder of hedge fund LongTail Alpha, Vineer Bhansali, says the “grand monetary– fiscal experiment” of negative interest rates put in place… [Read More…]

Family office portfolios could see massive underperformance ahead with most well-overweight cash, according to the latest Citi Private Bank global survey of the sector. David Bailin, Citi Global Wealth chief investment officer, said about a third of family offices in the survey reported cash holdings of 20 per cent or more while a further third… [Read More…]

The National Party will support the new financial sector climate-reporting legislation through its second reading, MP Todd McClay told parliament last week. Not that it matters. Labour and the Green parties already have the numbers to pass the legislation as-is but McClay said National would table amendments calling for an extended implementation time-table, including government… [Read More…]

Investment consultants like JANA and Frontier are banding together to “drive real change” by confronting the “daunting” task of accomplishing a net zero transition. The Net Zero Investment Consultants Initiative (NZICI) will see consultants embed advice on the transition to net zero into their advisory work and support clients on developing policies that align their… [Read More…]

Government has played down the risk of default KiwiSaver members incurring market-related losses as sacked providers transfer an estimated $3.6 billion to newly appointed schemes over an approximate two-month period from December 1. In a cache of documents supplied under and Official Information Act (OIA) request to Investment News NZ, internal government advice says about… [Read More…]

Kiwi Wealth has outsourced most of its remaining in-house-managed administration duties to MMC ahead of moving to the new default KiwiSaver arrangements later this year. In a deal confirmed today (September 20), MMC will take over registry, unit pricing and fund accounting for the $6 billion plus Kiwi Wealth KiwiSaver scheme – services it already… [Read More…]