Investment News

Two studies published in the past month have shed light on both the latest rankings, by assets, and how Sovereign Wealth Funds are investing those assets. Unlike many big pension funds, there is a big disparity in the cultures of sovereign funds and their investment styles. The definition of ‘sovereign wealth fund’ could also be… [Read More…]

The world’s largest investors are torn between flying to safety and fighting for growth as the COVID-19 crisis rolls on, a new analysis has found. According to an Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) report, for the first time since inception of its Global Public Investor (GPI) study, results show more investors are looking… [Read More…]

Nominations for the Financial Services Council (FSC) 2020 awards close off today with seven gongs up for grabs. To be presented at the FSC annual conference on September 8 in Auckland, the awards cover: – Chairman’s Award for Service to the Industry – Emerging Leader Award – Governance Award – Improving Consumer Outcomes Award –… [Read More…]

KiwiSaver providers are likely to face further pressure on fees following a new Financial Markets Authority (FMA) report due for publication in the next few weeks, including the potential for default schemes to publish profit-and-loss figures. It is understood that the FMA ‘value for money’ study, carried out by consultancy firm MyFiduciary, concludes KiwiSaver fees… [Read More…]

The government has sought industry feedback on two KiwiSaver fossil fuel exclusion options ahead of opening up the default scheme to tenders in September. Under the new proposals sent to providers early in July, KiwiSaver default schemes would have to exclude fossil fuel investments (equities only) based on either ownership alone or in concert with… [Read More…]

Russell Investments NZ senior consultant, Julian Darby, has resigned after 13 years with the business. Darby joined Russell as a consulting analyst late in 2007, rising to his current position in 2015. Previously, he spent about eight years as a finance lecturer at the University of Auckland. It is understood Darby will take up an… [Read More…]

AMP Capital cleaned-out its top ranks in Australia last week that included the exit of well-respected head of real estate, Carmel Hourigan. In a statement, AMP Capital said, along with Hourigan, the leadership shake-out would also see the departures of: Adrian Williams, chief operating officer and acting chief financial officer (CFO), leaving for “personal reasons”;… [Read More…]

As reported last week, impact investing is starting to make a dent in NZ with a rash of new funds coming to market this year. But while NZ investors are, for now, looking to make a difference (and money) in their own backyard, the wider world holds a much deeper set of opportunities for problem-solving… [Read More…]

Until a few years’ ago, multi-asset managers were consistently delivering reliable returns with good downside awareness. However, from 2018 there was a noticeable shift towards persistent underperformance in relative-value multi-asset managers which was outside the range of expectations. Frontier Advisors has produced a paper analysing the shift in performance, underlying drivers and the way forward…. [Read More…]

More than half of people saving for retirement could change investment settings based on how companies act during the coronavirus era, according to a new State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) study. The SSGA survey found that 55 per cent of almost 3,500 savers it polled across five jurisdictions would re-evaluate their investments in light of… [Read More…]