George Carter, Nikko Asset Management NZ managing director, reflects on the meaning and spirit of ‘ethical investing’ in an age where the labels can often be misleading “That man is richest who … has the widest helpful influence, both personal and by means of his possessions, over the lives of others” Unto this Last, John… [Read More…]
Investment News
BAU for ANZ wealth NZ as Australia goes on sale
ANZ’s New Zealand wealth arm will be operating a “business as usual” policy despite its trans-Tasman counterpart facing a likely sale, according to a bank spokesperson. “We will be looking at all possible options to ensure we maintain and strengthen our market leading position as New Zealand’s number one fund manager, KiwiSaver provider and third–largest… [Read More…]
Why fee hike could backfire on regulator
The substantial increases in Financial Market Authority (FMA) levies for large fund managers announced last week could have the “perverse” effect of lowering the fees collected by the regulator, according to some industry insiders. Several managers spoken to by Investment News NZ (IN NZ) said the fee rises increased the incentive to divert funds to… [Read More…]
Member ‘matchmaker’ service targets sluggish KiwiSaver transfer market
Automation could reduce KiwiSaver transfers to less than a week from the current month-long process, according to Tony Nejasmic, Calastone head of business development in Australaisa. Nejasmic said the clunky, labour-intensive KiwiSaver member transfer system was ripe for streamlining with a number of providers sounding out Calastone for a solution. Calastone, the UK-based fund processing… [Read More…]
NZ cluster controversy sets off global warning
The KiwiSaver cluster-bomb incident should serve as a warning to other jurisdictions, according to global environmental, social and governance (ESG) research firm, Sustainalytics. In a paper published last week, Sustainalytics says the KiwiSaver cluster-bomb debate – that saw a range of providers ultimately change some underlying index funds – “shows that investors offering passive investment… [Read More…]
Russell goes with GARY, Moore exits
The Russell Investments Global Bond Fund has doubled its in-house exposure after adding a new “strategic positioning” tilt targeting sovereign bonds. According a product announcement released late in October, the Russell fund – which manages about $1.5 billion via the NZ-dollar hedged version – now includes a ‘global adjusted real yield’ (GARY) strategy in addition… [Read More…]
Farrell reviews Suncorp cash and fixed interest mandates
Pat Farrell, the new CIO at Suncorp, in charge of about $20 billion in multi-manager funds, has put the fixed income and cash mandates currently managed by Nikko Asset Management Australia, up for review. Farrell joined Suncorp in late July, following the retirement of Nick Basile. He had previously been the CIO of BT Financial… [Read More…]
Mercer loses equities specialist to Colonial
Richard Cahill, the head of equities research at Mercer Investment Consulting, has left the firm and joined Colonial First State Global Asset Management. The loss of experienced asset consultants to both fund managers and super funds is a worrying industry trend. Cahill is understood to have already joined the big fund manager in a strategic… [Read More…]
US dollar a downer for global asset growth in 2015
The strengthening US currency pushed the collective assets of the world’s top 500 fund managers down 1.7 per cent year-on-year, according to the latest in the annual Willis Towers Watson (WTW) series. As at end December 2015 total assets under management of the top 500 fund manager club stood at US$76.7 trillion compared to US$78.1… [Read More…]
Dynamique rolls out first retail investor education program
Wellington-based institutional financial education provider, Dynamique, has launched a new program aimed at the retail market. Guy Dobson, Dynamique managing director, said the ‘Get ahead in wealth management’ series should appeal to a wide range of investors and professionals. “This program is designed for all wealth management clients who may need more information and education… [Read More…]