Investment News

With the increasing popularity of factor-based investing it is important to understand potential pitfalls, according to Raewyn Williams, the director, research and after-tax solutions, for Parametric Australia. It’s not as simple as it seems. In a recent client note Williams says super funds are becoming increasingly attracted to factor-based investing because it offers transparency and… [Read More…]

ANZ recorded the highest increase in gross annual retail funds flow, according to the latest Plan for Life (PFL) NZ market figures, while both AMP and Milford Asset Management fell into negative-growth territory. “Significant annual inflow growth was experienced by ANZ (39.2%), Mercer (37.3%), Kiwi Wealth (29.4%), Nikko (24.5%), BNZ (12.7%) and BT / Westpac… [Read More…]

In a sequel ahead of its time, Dynamique’s Guy Dobson reports from London as the post-Brexit reality dawns…   Just like Alice, the UK has tumbled down the rabbit-hole, sending shockwaves around global markets with its ‘impossible’ pro-Brexit vote. Initial reactions: true-to-form, markets over-react. Nevertheless, sterling’s fall from an abnormal US$1.50 on the eve of… [Read More…]

The lower-for-longer environment has spurred a growing appetite for securities lending strategies among Australasian asset owners, according to JP Morgan, global head of agent lending, Paul Wilson. On a recent tour to visit clients down-under, the London-based Wilson, said large asset owners globally, including Australia and New Zealand, were looking to squeeze extra returns out… [Read More…]

Ardea Investment Management, a $5 billion Australian-based fixed income boutique, has warned about the possibility of “inflation shock” for big super funds. A paper, published on the eve of Brexit last week, illustrates other dangers on the global stage than the complicated fallout of European disunity. Ardea, which was formed in a similarly tumultuous time… [Read More…]

FTSE Russell, the London Stock Exchange-owned (LSE) index business, has canned the New Zealand shares benchmark it inherited following the purchase of the Frank Russell Company in 2014. The demise of the Russell New Zealand Domestic Index leaves the S&P/NZX as the sole provider of local equities benchmarks for NZ fund managers. It is understood… [Read More…]

Regulation has emerged as the number one obsession for the NZ investment industry in a new report released this week. The inaugural BNP Paribas NZ ‘Investments & Operations Outlook’ survey, produced in association with Investment News NZ (IN NZ), found regulatory worries outweighed more traditional business issues. According to the survey of more than 90… [Read More…]

Christchurch-based Socrates Funds Management has frozen redemptions for six months as it mounts a last-ditch effort to survive the impending regulatory deadline. Charles Drace, head of the approximately $3.5 million exotic investment business, said he was in merger talks with at least two other managers that could see the Socrates funds survive post the December… [Read More…]

Westpac head of private wealth management, Joy Marslin, has resigned after serving a little over three years in the role. Marslin, who took over the position from Roy Thompson (now head of boutique investment firm New Ground Capital) in February 2013, would finish with Westpac in September, a bank spokesperson told Investment News NZ (IN… [Read More…]

Offshore issuers policed under ‘high quality’ regulatory regimes will not have to comply with New Zealand law, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) confirmed last week. The June 13 FMA note says the Financial Market Conduct Act (FMC) exemptions essentially extend relief available to overseas issuers under previous Securities Act provisions. “The FMA’s view is that,… [Read More…]