Frontier Advisors has analysed the performance of equities fund managers across the final quarter of the 2019-20 financial year. In a note released to its clients, Frontier reported that growth-focussed managers outstripped value managers by a considerable margin over the quarter, particularly across international markets where some very strong results were recorded. While the underperformance… [Read More…]
Investment News
Pie hard-closes Australasian product, rebrands global funds, updates benchmarks
The dual-located boutique firm, Pie Funds Management, has tweaked its product set again, shuttering one, renaming another two and adjusting a string of benchmarks. In it monthly newsletter published last week, Pie founder, Mike Taylor, says the group, which has almost $1 billion under management, had closed the Australasian Growth Fund to new investments. “This… [Read More…]
AMP stands by its man; Boag steps off Simplicity after breach
AMP is standing by its recently appointed funds management CEO despite a barrage of ‘me-too’ criticism across the Tasman – and beyond. Boe Pahari, who officially replaced Adam Tindall as AMP Capital chief early in July, has come under fire after it emerged he was subject to a sexual harassment claim from a now-former employee… [Read More…]
KiwiSaver sheds $4.6bn in first quarter, members regroup
The KiwiSaver market took a $4.6 billion hit in the March quarter as net inflows of about $1.1 billion were more than offset by investment losses of $5.7 billion, according to new figures from Australian research house Plan for Life (PFL). KiwiSaver kingpin, ANZ, booked the biggest loss in nominal terms (down more than $1.2… [Read More…]
Wirecard’s spectacular collapse: a lesson in due diligence
In one of the most stunning corporate failures in recent years, the big German payments fintech company Wirecard AG went into liquidation late last month and is now subject to fraud investigations, including money laundering and even dealing in the armaments trade. It is the first DAX 30 index stock – Germany’s equivalent of the… [Read More…]
Vanguard comes out top in 2020 first half ETF exchanges
Global passive investing giant Vanguard claimed victory in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) wars during the turbulent first half of 2020 with US flows more than double that of top dog BlackRock. According to Bloomberg, Vanguard booked ETF inflows of almost US$90 billion over the six months ending June 30 compared to just US$38 billion for… [Read More…]
Uncertainty reignites active versus passive argument
After more than 30 years of arguments among and between fund managers, academics and, even, regulators, the passive versus active debate may wax and wane but it remains unresolved across the broad investor audience. In a timely paper, Wellington Management has listed seven concerns about “the push for passive”. The consensus about current market conditions… [Read More…]
Negative thinking: how NZ banks are prepping for sub-zero rates
Even before the global economy went viral this March, the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) was softening up the market for negative interest rates – or least the idea of it. For instance, the RBNZ touted the prospects of a below-zero official cash rate (OCR) in a paper on unconventional monetary policy published in May… [Read More…]
Quality in the time of crisis
Market crises tend to come along a lot more often than you think. Sometimes, as with the market slump due, primarily, to the ‘trade wars’, starting in late in 2018 last year, between the US, China, Mexico and, even, Canada, you don’t even think about it as a crisis. But that market slump was greater… [Read More…]
Hayden memorial date confirmed for September
The family of well-known NZ actuary, Janet Hayden, has set a date for her memorial with an open invitation to interested parties. Hayden (also known under the Brownlie surname) died in May, aged 60, after an illness but the COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown at the time limited funeral attendance to close family only. In an… [Read More…]