Investment News

Cigna Life Insurance NZ has handed AMP Capital a local fixed income mandate of more than $100 million. According to a joint statement, AMP Capital will assume responsibility for the assets as newly-appointed manager of two Cigna NZ funds: the NZ Policy Holder and Shareholder funds. It is understood Cigna, the NZ subsidiary of US… [Read More…]

The rats and mice are deserting the UK pension transfer ship with two minor NZ-registered players cut from the latest official list. Missing from the most-recently updated UK tax department qualifying registered overseas pension scheme (QROPS) list are the GBP International and Super Trustee funds – both minnows with last-reported assets under management of about… [Read More…]

We haven’t seen this development in Australia as yet, but it looks like it’s finally coming. Willis Towers Watson is morphing into a fund manager, just as its main global competitors have done. And it is going to try to do it as a seamless offering in a spectrum of services for big super fund… [Read More…]

Active management has a proven edge in the bond market, according to a new study by global fixed income giant PIMCO, where almost two-thirds of index-ignorers have outperformed passive peers in the US. The PIMCO analysis found more than half of US active fixed income mutual and exchange-traded funds (ETF) beat the average passive counterpart… [Read More…]

Non-financial factors are likely to be integrated into the investment research and portfolio construction processes of institutional investors for “pretty much everybody” over the next five-to-10 years, according to Jens Peers, an expert on the subject. But, for Australian funds, too, there is still a way to go. Australian super funds rightly pride themselves on… [Read More…]

Auckland-based boutique firm Castle Point Funds Management has just officially rattled past a couple of milestones that position it well for a new phase of growth, according to co-founder, Richard Stubbs. Stubbs said Castle Point had recently tipped over $200 million in funds under management while racking up the all-important three-year track record that should… [Read More…]

‘Cultural fit’ was both the biggest employee issue and recruitment challenge for asset owners and fund managers, according to a survey by HR consultancy RiskWise Professionals and recruitment firm Super Recruiters. The survey, of 30 senior management at funds and service providers, undertaken in January and February, showed that employers were also concerned about ‘too… [Read More…]

Fund disrupter firm, Simplicity, has sold down its global credit investments due to a lack of suitably-priced screened options. Simplicity chief, Sam Stubbs, said the $100 million plus passive investment scheme operator exited its holdings in the Vanguard International Credit Securities Index product “a couple of weeks ago” to avoid exposure to companies linked to… [Read More…]

ANZ Investments has reshuffled and added to its Auckland-based team after repatriating some core portfolio management functions from Australia where the blue bank’s wealth division is looking to outsource manufacturing. In a note to clients, ANZ says the newly-established Investment Implementation Team (IIT) in Auckland would now host a raft of responsibilities formerly carried out… [Read More…]

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has upped the ante in its head-to-head legal battle with Milford Asset Management portfolio manager, Mark Warminger, lodging a last-minute counter-appeal. At the end of last month Warminger lobbed an appeal against the March 3 Auckland High Court finding he had breached market manipulation rules in two out of the… [Read More…]