Investment News

Australasian firms will need to appoint more tech-savvy senior executives and board directors if they are to stay ahead of the disruption curve, according to new research by UK-headquartered financial technology firm, Calastone. Sarah Hayward, Calastone Australia and NZ head, said the research, which tallied the number of ‘career technologists’ in top corporate or board… [Read More…]

Fund managers and super funds are finally starting to get their acts together to provide good retirement investment strategies. But it has proved a difficult task. Challenger stole a march on the industry in the retail space. Now others are coming to the party. Wheelhouse Partners, a boutique associate manager of the multi-affiliate Bennelong Funds… [Read More…]

NZ officially joined the global ‘impact investing’ trend last week with the launch of the country’s first home-grown fund looking to back businesses “delivering tangible societal and environmental outcomes”. And, as reported here last month, the Ākina Foundation is also targeting “market-rate financial returns” for the up to $15 million it raise for the wholesale… [Read More…]

The TSB Community Trust-led (TSB CT) joint venture would’ve paid about $170 million for the 51 per cent stake in Fisher Funds it bought last week based on the last recorded trade in the Takapuna investment firm’s shares. According to the latest TSB CT accounts, the New Plymouth-headquartered entity stumped up $75.6 million for a… [Read More…]

Victory in its two-year legal battle against Mark Warminger last week has freed-up the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) to pursue other related matters, according to chief executive, Rob Everett. Everett said the FMA is “less fettered” now the market manipulation case against former Milford Asset Management portfolio manager, Warminger, has been settled. “There were a… [Read More…]

Vanguard has lost another major NZ mandate in the wake of the responsible investment industry retro-fit with the government-owned Kiwi Wealth switching more than $660 million to its new in-house global equities fund. Last year ASB swapped Vanguard for BlackRock as manager of its $1 billion plus offshore shares portfolio as KiwiSaver managers scrambled to… [Read More…]

The NZ arms of many Australian-owned fund management groups are steering an independent line on socially responsible investing (SRI), head of the sector’s peak Australasian body says. Simon O’Connor, Responsible Investment of Australasia (RIAA) chief executive, said a number of Australian-parented NZ fund managers – including BT/Westpac, AMP, ANZ, BNZ and Mercer – have kept… [Read More…]

Morningstar Inc, which has been increasingly including ESG concerns in its research and ratings over the past few years, has cemented a “strategic collaboration” with Sustainalytics, a global ESG research firm, through the purchase of a 40 per cent interest in the company. Chicago-based Morningstar was instrumental in bringing Sustainalytics to Australia and New Zealand,… [Read More…]

Fund managers must have a clearly-defined environment, social and governance (ESG) policy to attract institutional investors, according to Mint Asset Management chief, Rebecca Thomas. Thomas said wholesale investors increasingly see comprehensive ESG policies as a must-have fund management item rather than simply a specialised portfolio ‘ethical’ option. “Globally, fund manager responsible investment policies are now… [Read More…]

Aon NZ general manager, Janet Hayden, has been made redundant following a restructure at the actuarial consulting firm. In a note to clients Hayden, who also acted as Aon Pacific head of retirement and financial management, says her “role at Aon has been disestablished so I am no longer available”. It is understood the move… [Read More…]