Investment News

The NZ investment back-office switched seamlessly into COVID mode again last week as operational practices adopted in 2020 proved resilient, according to MMC chief, Vedran Babic. Babic said with the investment industry now attuned to pandemic-related disruption, market players were able to comfortably ride out the latest lockdown. He said as Auckland-based investment firms reverted… [Read More…]

Kiwi Wealth chief, Ian Burns, has quit the $6 billion plus firm after six years at the helm. Formally ending his tenure last week, Burns has been replaced in the interim by Rhiannon McKinnon, Kiwi Wealth general manager strategy and partnerships. In a release, Kiwi Wealth chair, Gregg Behrens, said the government-owned investment house would… [Read More…]

In the latest leg of a bitter legal dispute dating back to 2011, the Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL) has won High Court approval to apply once more for ‘ombudsman’ status. The ruling handed down last week by Justice Grice in the Wellington High Court sets aside a 2019 decision by the Chief Ombudsman (CO)… [Read More…]

Total fund inflows recovered strongly in the December quarter and are continuing to do so in the first quarter this year, according to Morningstar, while ESG-related funds across Australia and New Zealand have hit record growth rates. ESG-focused funds had a record A$4 billion in inflows in the December quarter, although the big global and… [Read More…]

Boutiques Milford and Hyperion have claimed the Morningstar fund manager of the year awards in NZ and Australia, respectively. The digital-only NZ event also saw category wins for Castle Point (domestic shares), Simplicity (KiwiSaver), Russell Investments (fixed interest) and T Rowe Price (global equities). Aman Ramrakha, Morningstar Australasia director manager research ratings said in a… [Read More…]

NZ bond managers are up for an interesting year ahead as the recent spike in long-term rates challenges portfolio settings, creating scope for a wider spread of returns. Hamish Pepper, Harbour Asset Management fixed income and currency strategist, said bond investors would have to act with “greater conviction” amid rapidly changing market dynamics. “If you… [Read More…]

The huge influx of capital into manager-of-the-moment Ark Invest over the last 12 months has brought pros and cons, according to the firm’s head of research, Brett Winton. Winton told a Nikko Asset Management NZ online investor update last week that the massive inflows racked up by the ‘disruptive innovation’ boutique of late has “benefits… [Read More…]

The NZ superannuation master trust market popped above the $8 billion mark during the December quarter as solid flows, strong investment returns and a significant employer entrant boosted growth, the latest EriksensGlobal survey of the sector shows. Over the three months to the end of last year total master trust funds under management (FUM) spiked… [Read More…]

US markets could halve settlement times by 2023 in a move aimed at dramatically cutting margin costs and reducing risk, according to financial infrastructure behemoth The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC). The DTCC proposal released in the wake of the GameStop brouhaha that highlighted margin bottlenecks in the system would see US securities trading… [Read More…]

Just as global investors prepare to onboard new climate disclosure standards another, broader, set of non-monetary reporting measures is in the offing. Hot on the heels of the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) moves are afoot to take the process a step further into the natural world. While still in embryonic phase, the Taskforce… [Read More…]