Investment News

The NZ funds management forum has stepped up to a more formal level after landing on a name for the organisation last week. Operating as a loosely knit group of like-minded fund managers since 2015, the forum has now adopted the Boutique Investment Group (BIG) moniker. Chaired by Nikko Asset Management NZ general counsel, Simon… [Read More…]

Investment organisations are not learning from their experience when it comes to improving investment committee (IC) practices and governance, according to new research from the ‘Thinking Ahead Institute’, a not-for-profit member group linked to Willis Towers Watson. The research, ‘Going from Good to Great’, identifies the aircraft industry’s structured-learning environments as one for pension funds… [Read More…]

In celebration of Money Week in NZ, Simon O’Connor, CEO Responsible Investment Association Australasia, just wonders if a focus on ESG could give financial advisers the edge in a world where values and value assume equal importance…   Amongst the uncertain times we find ourselves in, it’s no wonder the Commission For Financial Capability is… [Read More…]

Both of the biggest (mostly) NZ-owned managers have reported bumper revenue in the 12 months to March 31, buoyed by strong fund flows and, mostly, supportive markets. While the March 31 balance date followed just a week after the low point of the COVID-19 market crash, Fisher Funds and Milford reported revenue growth and solid… [Read More…]

Industry share of Financial Markets Authority (FMA) funding will rise to more than 80 per cent by 2022 under changes released by government last week. Historically, government aimed to recoup just 75 per cent of FMA operating costs through levies but the just-published Cabinet paper shows the industry-funded proportion would ultimately jump by 8 per… [Read More…]

Franklin Templeton announced its new leadership team last week, including the important Australasian and APAC parts of the business, prior to the official completion on July 31 of the takeover of Legg Mason, the global multi-affiliate manager. Now, the hard work begins. Multi-affiliate managers tend to be a different breed to traditional funds management firms…. [Read More…]

Australian specialist impact investment firm, Brightlight Group, will establish an on-the-ground NZ presence after winning the lead manager role on the new Trust Waikato-sponsored Te Puna Hapori fund. Brightlight is also working with the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) to design a public-private impact investing strategy for the Pacific Islands. Mark Ingram,… [Read More…]

Fintech enthusiasts have until this week to lob in an offer for the Australian and NZ arms of collapsed German online payments firm, Wirecard. Auckland-based insolvency firm McGrath Nicol has opened up bidding for the Australasian assets of the “innovative, bank grade, consumer electronic payment solution provider”. The offer extends to the three “core software… [Read More…]

Aon will repay all global staff hit by a coronavirus-related emergency 20 per cent salary cut imposed from May to the end of June. In a recent note, Aon says the 20 per cent pay cut that affected most of the group’s 50,000 employees (including those in NZ) would be reimbursed plus 5 per cent… [Read More…]

Institutional investors have been losing trust in the financial services industry over the last two years, according to a new CFA Institute report, while their retail counterparts remain largely unmoved. Despite the almost 7 per cent decline in the institutional investor trust metric compared to the 2018 study, the sector still has a rosier view… [Read More…]