Fund admin business MMC is leading the charge to set industry standards on unit pricing error-reporting. Nicola Tait, MMC head of client services and marketing, said a working group convened by the firm – comprising administrators (both third-party and in-house), fund managers and supervisors – had agreed on thresholds for when unit-pricing mistakes require down-the-line… [Read More…]
Investment News
JP Morgan set to win big T-Corp tender
NSW Treasury, which oversees the $70 billion NSW Government’s T-Corp amalgamation of the underlying investments of three separate Government-controlled funds, is expected to announce the winner of Australia’s largest-ever custody tender in the next couple of weeks. After a review and tender process, which lasted more than a year, JP Morgan has been selected as… [Read More…]
Robo-advice to run for money across the board
Robo-advice “has legs” across a much broader population than previously thought, according to Recep Peker, research director with Sydney-based firm Investment Trends. Peker said the results of a new Investment Trends survey, which sampled 9,000 online share investors and 1,450 financial advisers in five countries, found robo-advice was a population option for both lower-balance pre-retirees… [Read More…]
Report finds gaping gender divide in funds management
Australia and NZ still rank low in the fund manager gender diversity stakes despite a slight improvement since 2008, a new Morningstar global study has found. According to the Morningstar ‘Fund manager by gender’ report published last week, just 11 per cent of managed funds in Australia and NZ include a female portfolio manager compared… [Read More…]
Aussie regulator can see the future (and it’s looking meta)
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is piloting a range of big-data policing tools including the use of “predictive analytics” to spot financial crime before it happens. In a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) in Sydney last week, ASIC chair, Greg Medcraft, said predictive analytics would help the corporate cop in… [Read More…]
MD change ahead for Devon; Glass takes a third of JMIS
Devon Funds Management will reshuffle its top-level ranks next year following the resignation of a long-time senior executive. The change will see portfolio manager Slade Robertson assume the managing director role to be vacated by incumbent Mel Firmin next April. Paul Glass, Devon founder and executive chairman, said Firmin was “looking for a change” after… [Read More…]
MIS is coming: all present (most correct)
Just a handful of managed investment scheme (MIS) applications are still in the queue as the licensing regime prepares for launch this week. Liam Mason, Financial Markets Authority (FMA) director of regulation, said the paperwork is pending on only three MIS licences for already-established entities. “We also have some applications for a few new entrants… [Read More…]
Members may lose the ‘race to the bottom’ on fees, researcher warns
A new analysis has debunked the assumption that low fees inevitably equate with better outcomes for KiwiSaver investors. In fact, the study, released by Australian research house SuperRatings last week, found there was “often an inverse relationship between fees and investment outcomes achieved by members”. The research, which modeled the experience of KiwiSaver members in… [Read More…]
WTW strengthens top-level advisory thanks to NZ Super
Willis Towers Watson has recruited Sue Brake, one of the people who put together the governance structure for the launch of NZ Super and a former adviser to the IMF, in a senior consulting role based in Sydney. Brake started this month in a role which she describes as “across the board, with an emphasis… [Read More…]
How to avoid injuries in the bull rush from bonds
Investors shouldn’t over-react to the recent spike in interest rates by bailing out of global bonds, according to Ben Trollip, recently-appointed senior investment consultant at Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW). In a note published last week, Trollip says while the trend-setting US 10-year Treasury yields have jumped 0.75 per cent since September 30, the move was… [Read More…]