Investment News

Government-related entities account for almost 70 per cent of assets invested by the world’s 300 largest pension funds, according to a recent global study. The Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI) – a division of global consultancy firm Willis Towers Watson – report shows public sector and sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) manage US$7.1 trillion and US$5.3 trillion,… [Read More…]

Pinnacle Investment Management, the independent Australian-based multi-affiliate manager, has recruited another senior executive to assist its global positioning in the institutional world. Multi-affiliate managers, Australian or otherwise, are a great barometer for the future of our funds management industry. Pinnacle has hired Duncan Hodnett, the former head of institutional business, and de-facto country head, for… [Read More…]

The almost $40 billion NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) has confirmed it will replace the chief investment officer (CIO) role formally left vacant this June as incumbent, Matt Whineray, ascended to the top job at the organisation. In a job ad listed last week, the NZS says the CIO role is a “high profile leadership position”… [Read More…]

Ex First State Investments NZ director, Matthew Laing, has joined Salt Funds Management in a new position as head of distribution Asia Pacific. Matthew Goodson, Salt managing director, said Laing assumed a “key sales role” within the almost $2 billion boutique ahead of a planned product launch. Goodson said Laing had taken on some of… [Read More…]

AMP Capital has shaken up the manager menu for its Responsible Investment Leaders (RIL) global equities product in an effort to prepare the fund for changing market conditions and bolster environmental, social and governance (ESG) credentials. In a note to clients last week, Rebekah Swan, AMP Capital NZ head of distribution, says the RIL international… [Read More…]

Vanguard has rolled out a suite of environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds first offered in NZ to the Australian market. Last week Vanguard launched the ‘Ethically Conscious’ range of global share and bond funds in both unlisted and exchange-traded fund (ETF) formats to the Australian market. The passive fund giant, which manages more than… [Read More…]

Over half of NZ’s endowment funds are weighing up new investment strategies as an era of lower returns and heightened risk looms, according to a just-released Mercer report. The Mercer survey of trustees in 28 NZ endowment funds – including community trusts and the like – found 54 per cent were considering changing their investment… [Read More…]

Institutional investors expect to allocate more to their various alternatives strategies in the next 12 months, on average, in every asset class except hedge funds, according to latest survey by the global alternatives research firm Prequin. But most have lowered their sights on expected returns. Infrastructure will get the biggest increase, with 43 per cent… [Read More…]

Nikko Asset Management NZ has swept the pool of fund awards after claiming the top prize at last week’s FundSource event. George Carter, Nikko Asset Management NZ chief, said as both FundSource and Morningstar fund manager of the year, the business was well-positioned for growth in the retail market. Carter said the research house awards… [Read More…]

NZ financial product search website, Pocketwise, has launched an online comparison tool to coincide with the beginning of ‘Money Week’. The free ‘financial health check’ tool allows users to compare a range of products – including KiwiSaver funds, credit cards, term deposits and loans – against competitors through a single ‘dashboard’ view. Binu Paul, Pocketwise… [Read More…]