Investment News

Influential governance roles are up for grabs in the regulatory sector with both the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) and the new adviser code committee seeking fresh talent. The FMA has advertised for two new board members covering the respective angles of consumers and the banking/insurance sectors. Currently, the FMA lists eight board members (including an… [Read More…]

AMP is looking to reboot its troublesome Australian financial advisory business, revealing a series of reforms last week that remove long-standing institutional ownership shackles while ditching the controversial buyer-of-last-resort (BOLR) program. In a statement to the ASX, recently appointed AMP Australia managing director advice, Matthew Lawler, said the updated advisory model for the group features… [Read More…]

Former head of ANZ wealth distribution, Nigel Scott, has joined the board of local private markets investment platform, Syndex. Scott also served as head of advice and distribution for Macquarie Wealth NZ (now Hobson Wealth) for over four years after ending his 10-year career at ANZ in 2017. He remains as non-executive director of Hobson… [Read More…]

Aon will pay a US$1 billion break fee to Willis Towers Watson (WTW) after a proposed marriage between the two global insurance broking and professional services firms fell over last week. In a joint statement, Aon and WTW blamed the end of their 16-month engagement on a legal challenge from the US Department of Justice… [Read More…]

Fund managers show a keen willingness to embrace data science and systems such as centralised data platforms for decision making when it comes to formal surveys. But the reality is still something different. According to a survey of 300 global asset management firms sponsored by the asset servicing arm of Northern Trust, nearly half (48… [Read More…]

Data quality, regulatory confusion and limited asset class choice rank as the most important stumbling blocks for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investors, a new study has confirmed. Released in July, the Index Industry Association (IIA) survey of 300 fund managers in Europe and the US found about 90 per cent of respondents rated various… [Read More…]

Infrastructure has proven its worth as an inflation-protective asset class over the last 15 years, according to a new analysis from Australian boutique fund manager Maple-Brown Abbott (MBA). The MBA study found the global listed infrastructure benchmark delivered dividend growth at least in line with inflation as the broader international equities “struggled to provide stable… [Read More…]

In the beginning was the word and the word was ‘ethical’. Now we have lots of words: ‘responsible’, ‘sustainable’, ‘stewardship’, ‘environmental’, ‘social’ and ‘governance’. And perhaps a new word: ‘singularity’. The Singularity Group is a Zurich-based global investment boutique and research firm which uses quantitative techniques to seek out companies which have sustainable innovation as… [Read More…]

BlackRock, the biggest investment house in the known universe, now holds sway over about a quarter of the NZ retail fund market after cementing a deal with ASB last week to oversee some $20 billion. The ASB move to outsource most investment decisions to BlackRock coincides with the transition of an estimated $10 billion of… [Read More…]

Westpac has hinted at underlying investment changes ahead as the bank moves to slash fees on its almost $9 billion KiwiSaver scheme later this year. According to a Westpac spokesperson, the institution had “no [KiwiSaver investment] changes to announce at the moment, but will update the market as we prepare to implement the fee reductions… [Read More…]