New Zealand’s fund managers were buying at the margins last week as the biggest wave of volatility for years hit the markets. Andrew Bascand, head of Harbour Asset Management, said the sharp downturn in Australasian shares early last week on the back of global uncertainty opened up the market for bargain-hunters. Bascand said Harbour added… [Read More…]
Investment News
Fund fee GST decision due soon
Details about potential changes to the GST treatment of funds management fees should be known shortly, according to Matthew Hanley, tax partner with consultancy firm EY (formerly known as Ernst and Young). Hanley said the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) was expected to let the industry know its preferred approach to GST on fund fees “in… [Read More…]
Select sales manager resigns as JMIS switch nears
Aaron Bowkett, Sovereign investment development manager, has resigned to take up a position at passive-flavoured financial planning support firm, Consilium. Bowkett spearheaded sales for Sovereign’s $600 million Select Wealth Management discretionary investment management service (DIMS), which Auckland-based consulting and investment firm, JMIS, bought in May. Along with a number of other Sovereign staff, Bowkett was… [Read More…]
FMA to put itself in harms way as governance, culture and conflict take precedence
New Zealand’s financial cop has flagged “governance, culture and conflicted conduct” as top policing priorities in its just-released annual review of enforcement activities. In the ‘Investigations and enforcement’ report for the 12 months to end of June this year, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) highlights poor governance, inadequate policies, sloppy implementation and “lack of awareness… [Read More…]
Government scores own goal by dropkicking KiwiSaver incentives, NZIER study finds
KiwiSaver subsidies would end up paying for themselves in future tax revenue, according to a new report published last week. In a sharp critique of recent moves to scale back state support for KiwiSaver, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) study says the government relied on a short-term historical report rather than a… [Read More…]
IIS trumps Klum as FMA hands out 10th licence
The number of licensed New Zealand fund managers hit double digits last week with Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) joining the official list. IIS, which markets a range of Russell Investments-managed funds, is the 10th firm to be licensed by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) since December last year. Anthony Edmonds, IIS managing director, said in… [Read More…]
Robot number one: BlackRock punts on auto-advice
The world’s biggest funds management firm, BlackRock, last week bought rising San Francisco-based auto-advice business, FutureAdvisor for a reported US$150 million plus. In a statement, BlackRock said it would offer the FutureAdvisor technology to other financial institutions rather than target individual investors directly. “The acquisition of FutureAdvisor helps meet the needs of a range of… [Read More…]
Touch of class action for Australasia
Institutional Protection Services (IPS), an international shareholder class actions administrator, has expanded its reach in the region with the appointment of an Australian representative and the completion of its first roadshow. Caroline Goodman, London-based IPS founder and managing director, spent last week in Sydney and Melbourne speaking to super funds and fund manager clients and… [Read More…]
Listing not a priority for Complectus as new CEO due to take the reins
Listing is still off the agenda for the fast-growing trust company roll-up Complectus, according to founder and managing director, Andrew Barnes. Barnes said, contrary to market speculation, incoming Complectus CEO, Grant Kemble, was not hired to prepare the company for an IPO. “Although we are a statutory supervisor and have all the accoutrements of a… [Read More…]
NZX offshore ETFs get $350m leg-up, SuperLife adds to bottom line
Almost $350 million poured into the NZX-listed global equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on launch late in July, according to figures on the Smartshares website. The NZX-owed subsidiary, Smartshares, reported total funds under management (FUM) across its nine Vanguard-backed global ETFs at about $346.5 million on July 31, just two days after the official listing date… [Read More…]