Sir Michael Cullen, the political godfather of both the NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) and KiwiSaver scheme died last Thursday at 76 after a battle with cancer. The NZ Labour politician, deputy prime minister and finance minister, will likely be remembered more widely for his liberal views, including legalised euthanasia, and generosity of spirit towards the… [Read More…]
Investment News
Ring takes exit from QuayStreet; ANZ looks to boost local fixed team; MyFiduciary hiring
The Craigs Investment Partners-owned fund manager, QuayStreet Asset Management, is seeking a new international equities analyst following the departure of long-time portfolio manager, James Ring. Ring retired about a month ago after an almost seven-year stint at QuayStreet, ending a multi-decade Australasian investment career. Prior to joining QuayStreet he ran (and co-founded) the short-lived Australian-based… [Read More…]
Less essential: regulators narrow exemption for financial services in Level 4, version 3
The latest Level 4 COVID alert is likely to see fewer financial services deemed as ‘essential’ under formal exemptions compared to previous lockdowns. In a release, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) says it is collaborating with the Reserve Bank of NZ and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to develop “a list of… [Read More…]
Get real: Salt adds infrastructure PIE as inflation set to bite
Reality isn’t what it used to be. And investors will need to different strategies to cope with radically altered market conditions expected over the coming years, according to Salt head of global diversified funds, Greg Fleming. In a new paper published last week, Fleming says demand is rising for assets immune to “suppressed interest rates… [Read More…]
Halifax auditors guilty as charged; clients face long settlement delays
In a legal first the Australian auditors of the now-defunct trans-Tasman broking firm Halifax Investment Services were fined a combined A$50,000 last week following convictions for breaching auditing standards. Robert Evett and EC Audit “are the first auditors in Australia to face criminal charges and to be sentenced” under the Corporations Act, the Australian Securities… [Read More…]
Climate-reporting to cool manager profits, heat fund fees
Imminent climate disclosure obligations could dent fund manager profits by up to 1 per cent while increasing KiwiSaver fees as much as 2.2 per cent, according to Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) analysis. The MBIE documents, released along with the final select committee report on the Financial Sector (Climate-related Disclosures and Other Matters)… [Read More…]
Prepare for ‘Impact Plus’ and a ‘Dark Green’ fund
The investment world has its fair share of clever spin doctors, such as the investment banks behind the ‘BRICs’ and ‘PIGS’ of years past. Some intriguing labels are now coming out of the budding impact investing sector. Mark Berryman, the managing director of impact and sustainable investing at US advisory firm Caprock Group, offered up… [Read More…]
Magellan hitches wagon to diversified future
Magellan will continue to spend big on ventures like upstart investment bank Barrenjoey and fintech Finclear as it diversifies away from its cornerstone global equities business. With investors continuing to question the lacklustre performance of Magellan’s global equities strategy, which has been the focus of (occasionally unfair) media attention for going on a year now,… [Read More…]
Behavioural coaching key as Russell finds advice adds 5% plus in volatile year
Quality financial advice added more than 5 per cent to client portfolios during the year, according to the latest annual analysis by Russell Investments Australia. The Russell 2021 ‘Value of an adviser report’ found advised client portfolios were on average 5.2 per cent better-off than DIY investors for the period. In its fourth yearly study,… [Read More…]
A case study in AI for funds management
The term ‘big data’ has not resonated with investors in the way that the term ‘artificial intelligence’ has. Marrying the two helps. Now applying them to the ESG trend helps a lot more. Andy Moniz, a quantitative fund manager with a pedigree in data science, says he never much liked the term ‘big data’. The… [Read More…]