Investment News

Ian Dunbar, CEO of NZ-originated fintech pioneer, SuiteBox, analyses the technology trends set to make a difference in the year ahead for financial services   Kicking off 2017 on a positive note, I’ve examined the way in which technology is impacting the way we do business in the financial services sector. The wealth landscape is… [Read More…]

About $375 million has shifted from the ASB-owned Aegis wrap to a new FNZ-built investment administration platform launched by the Boutique Advisers Alliance (BAA) last year. The BAA, formed by the Hastings-based Stewart Group in 2015 to provide aggregated services to independent advisory firms, currently boasts six member firms. Nick Stewart, head of the Stewart… [Read More…]

Wellington-headquartered Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) has launched a new online investment platform aimed at the direct market. IIS managing director, Anthony Edmonds, said the InvestNow service would kick off with a range of products in addition to the Russell Investments funds the firm markets. “Initially, we were just looking to make it easier for people… [Read More…]

Pathfinder Asset Management has signaled a further push into the socially responsible investment market after hiring global environmental, social and governance (ESG) specialist, Sustainalytics, as research partner. John Berry, Pathfinder director, said the Auckland boutique fund manager would initially use Sustainalytics – via the group’s recently-opened Sydney office – to screen its Global Water Fund…. [Read More…]

Mercer will take charge on March 1 of the approximately $270 million New Plymouth District Council portfolio previously managed by in-house entity, Taranaki Investment Management Limited (TIML). In a statement issued just before Christmas last year, the New Plymouth Council confirmed Mercer as winner of New Zealand’s last major wholesale mandate of 2016. “The appointment… [Read More…]

Mercer will retrench up to 50 staff in Australia and New Zealand as part of a restructure which got underway before Christmas. Positions are being made redundant across a number of divisions, mostly in Melbourne and Sydney, including superannuation administration and sales. While the move follows similar head-count and other cost reductions at big funds… [Read More…]

As the debate about divestment of certain stocks bubbles along among fund managers and their institutional clients, often concerning whether returns may be impacted by a divestment program, at least one Australian manager is looking to New Zealand to provide cleaner substitutes for its energy exposure. Martin Currie Australia, which is an affiliate manager of… [Read More…]

Reflation has arrived along with broad economic recovery globally but consensus views on the outlook remain too cautious, according to BlackRock. Animal spirits are returning to the markets. The consensus numbers are further from BlackRock’s ‘Macro GPS’ forecasting model, which incorporates big data signals, than at any time since 2013, the BlackRock Investment Institute says… [Read More…]

The New Plymouth Council (NPC) has found a home for the roughly $270 million previously controlled in-house by subsidiary Taranaki Investment Management Limited (TIML). In a decision confirmed at a Council meeting last week, the TIML mandate was awarded to one of the short-listed candidates understood to include Russell Investments, Mercer and Cambridge Associates. NPC… [Read More…]

The Wellington-based boutique Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) has signed up BNP Paribas as back-office provider for two soon-to-be-released products under its new fund-hosting service. Doug Cameron, head of BNP Paribas NZ, said the deal involved both custody and fund administration services for the new IIS funds. “We’re very pleased with this new relationship and exciting… [Read More…]