Investment News

The NZX-owned investment platform Wealth Technologies almost doubled funds under administration (FUA) in November after onboarding new client, Hobson Wealth. According to the latest NZX monthly metrics, the Wealth Technologies FUA leapt from about $3.6 billion in October to just under $7 billion at the latest count. More than five years after purchasing the Apteryx… [Read More…]

NAB Asset Servicing and client Suncorp have signed a new contract for custody and a range of other back and middle-office services following a complicated on-again off-again relationship between the two banks dating back to 2013. The new contract, expected to be announced this week, lays to rest several years of uncertainty over the relationship,… [Read More…]

Almost all global pension investors expect post-COVID financial markets to follow a W path or play an accordion-like tune, a new survey has found. The study by UK-based research firm, Create, shows almost half of the respondents projected a W-shaped recovery ahead while 36 per cent forecast an accordion future featuring “a series of mini… [Read More…]

Predicting when a sustained rally in value stocks may occur has proved to be a fool’s errand for the past several years, but that hasn’t stopped value managers from trying. In its latest paper on the subject, Lazard Asset Management has provided a pathway, if not a timeline. The paper, ‘Can Investors Still Believe in… [Read More…]

The Inuit word for ‘polar bear’, Nanuk, entered the wider global stage in a pioneering film documentary made almost 100 years ago under a slightly different spelling. Released in 1922 ‘Nanook of the North’ was the first feature-length documentary to screen in cinemas, garnering critical and box-office success that still sustains the film’s reputation as… [Read More…]

Despite the imminent release of vaccines, COVID-19 remains the number one threat to financial stability in the year ahead, according to a new study by The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). The 2021 DTCC ‘Systemic Risk Barometer’, based on a survey of 220 financial institutions globally, found about two-thirds of respondents were concerned both… [Read More…]

Expected medium-term returns from diversified portfolios have more than halved compared to the previous five years, according to a new Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) analysis. Published last week, the MJW client note shows current projected five-to-seven-year returns on idealised risk-weighted portfolios range from 2 per cent for conservative funds to just 4.5 per cent for… [Read More…]

The Wellington-based online investment platform, Sharesies is sounding out the Australian market for possible expansion. Brooke Roberts, co-founder of Sharesies, said the firm was currently recruiting for an Australian country manager. “We are looking at launching Sharesies in Australia,” Roberts said. “But at the moment we’re working on a product that might fit the market… [Read More…]

The Trust Management charity-focused fund manager has swapped out State Street for a BlackRock iShares indexed international fixed income product among a series of tweaks to its new portfolio investment entity (PIE) selection. Post the manager move, the roughly $50 million Trust offshore fixed income money now lives in the iShares ESG Global Bond Index… [Read More…]

Following a period of rapid growth the Auckland-headquartered fund administration firm MMC has created two new top executive roles focusing on transformation and human resources. Under the changes, current chief operating officer (COO), Chris Watson, has assumed the role of chief transformation officer (CTO). As CTO, Watson is charged with heading the Transformation Management Office… [Read More…]