Auckland-based boutique firm Castle Point Funds Management has celebrated its third birthday by signing on a new distribution partner. Richard Stubbs, Castle Point co-founder, said last week the deal with Heathcote Investment Partners would lift the firm’s profile in the advisory market. “We have been looking to increase our resources for supporting advisers and partnering… [Read More…]
Investment News
Alt-control shift as wealth funds consider options
After a five-year burst of portfolio realignment sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) have slowed the pace of change, according to new research. The International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) survey released earlier this month found the “significant shift” towards alternative assets initiated by members over the previous half-decade has stalled. About half of the 10… [Read More…]
Bridgewater on currency swings and why it’s forces for courses
Managing forex exposure could be the most important decision global investors have to make in a persistent low-return world, Bridgewater co-CIO, Bob Prince, told the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSWF) Auckland conference this month. Prince said if the next decade and beyond follows the expected course of low growth and subdued returns –… [Read More…]
Aussie fund admin firm plots expansion after NAB win
Matt Lawler, the former chief executive of boutique Australian financial services firm Yellow Brick Road, has joined OneVue as executive general manager of Wealth Management Services. In a passionate address to the company’s AGM, OneVue CEO Connie Mckeage outlined not only the future for the company, including Lawler’s role, but also the future for retail… [Read More…]
Global investment team redesign by AMP Capital
AMP Capital Australia has dumped two senior investment managers in a restructure of its global equities and fixed income teams. Following the revamp, both head of global listed infrastructure, Tim Humphreys, and head of credit and core, David Carruthers, have left the business, AMP Capital said in a statement last week. The reshuffle has seen… [Read More…]
UK fund managers, consultants roughed up by regulator
The UK financial regulator has gone to town on the country’s funds management industry calling for a raft of measures to reduce fees, improve disclosure and increase competition. In a wide-sweeping report released last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) recommends stronger investor best interest requirements for fund managers as well as introducing an “all-in… [Read More…]
Why good governance beats alpha
Improving governance offers institutional investors win-win – or at least not-lose-win – odds of boosting performance potentially outdoing even the most optimistic post-fees alpha earned from active management, according to a new Willis Towers Watson (WTW) paper. The ‘Investment case for better asset owner governance’ study, authored by former New Zealand Superannuation Fund head of… [Read More…]
Scheme transfers jump to 12-month peak in September
KiwiSaver monthly transfers hit an annual high during September spiking to 1.5-times the growth in new members, the latest Inland Revenue Department (IRD) statistics show. According to the IRD figures, over 15,000 KiwiSaver members swapped schemes in September, up almost 2,000 on the previous month and about 7,000 more than the 12-month low reported last… [Read More…]
How big funds are adapting to new liquidity landscape
Liquidity has risen to become top priority in the management of fiduciary funds for both asset owners and fund managers, according to a joint survey by State Street and the Alternative Investment Management Association. In a report published last week, London-based AIMA and Boston-based State Street say regulations stemming from the 2008 financial crisis, coupled… [Read More…]
KiwiSavers want to engage responsibly, RIAA discovers
Most KiwiSaver investors favour engagement rather than divestment of troublesome stocks, a new survey commissioned by the Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA) has found. Over 40 per cent of the 1,001 respondents said that “exercising rights as a shareholder is more likely to influence a company’s behaviour than selling the investment”, according to the… [Read More…]