A new academic paper has urged the government to set KiwiSaver default funds to ethical investment standards. In ‘Making responsible investment the new standard in KiwiSaver’, author and University of Auckland philosophy senior lecturer, Matheson Russell, argues the default settings should reflect broad New Zealand preferences for socially-responsible investing (SRI). The paper says while there… [Read More…]
Investment News
Harbour Views: a heat map of Aussie property market
Harbour Asset Management portfolio manager and director, Shane Solly, was in Australia recently to gauge the ‘temperature’ of the Aussie residential property market… it was hot in spots The parallels between the Sydney and Auckland housing markets are striking. Headlines suggest conditions are ‘hot’. Average Sydney house prices are up by more than 20… [Read More…]
Researcher puts Milford fund under review…
Research house Morningstar has highlighted potential sell-down driven liquidity concerns in its decision to place the Milford Trans-Tasman Fund ‘under review’. The Morningstar downgrade – which essentially urges investors to hold off on further contributions rather than to redeem funds – was issued in the wake of the sudden exit of portfolio manager, Mark Warminger,… [Read More…]
… as ODD recommendations sink in
Milford Asset Management has employed two specialists to a central dealing desk through which all Milford trades are now channeled. In November last year Milford hired Mark Riggall as senior dealer. Sean Harrison joined Riggall in a junior position on Milford’s newly-established central dealing desk this April. The compliance hires were prompted by the Financial… [Read More…]
Pathfinder scouts new research avenues as FUM tops $100m
Pathfinder Asset Management has commissioned a new third-party research report on its World Equity Fund (WEF) as it seeks to grow adviser distribution, according to executive director, John Berry. Berry said Pathfinder recently engaged Nelson-based JM Consulting, headed by John Mellor, to produce a research report on its WEF. He said the shortage of fund… [Read More…]
Top managers jump ship from AMP Capital Australia
AMP Capital Australia has lost two senior members of its local equities team to rival managers. Gian Pandit, co-head of Australian Fundamental Equities, and senior portfolio manager, Jonas Palmqvist, both resigned last week to take up roles with separate funds management businesses. Ella Brown, AMP Capital Australia head of fundamental equities, also resigned early in… [Read More…]
Alternative viewpoint gets airing in Aon show
New Zealand investors are slowly warming to the idea of alternative asset classes, according to Guy Fisher, Aon Hewitt investment consultant. Fisher said while local wholesale investors are generally underweight alternative assets relative to global peers “there’s a genuine broad interest in the topic now”. He said as traditional asset class valuations appear stretched and… [Read More…]
Aussie hedge fund hit by trading allegations makes payout to minimise investors’ pain
The fortunes of multi-award-winning hedge fund managers Andrew and Philip King seem to be going from bad to worse following their former board colleagues’ revelations of a query by ASIC over trading in a resources stock in 2013. Are they being punished for being clever? Andrew, the chief executive, and brother Philip, the chief investment… [Read More…]
Best of times over, NZS chair says return to normality inevitable
Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZS) chairman, Gavin Walker, has hosed down expectations of continuing double-digit returns. In a speech to board “stakeholders” last week, Walker said the average 21 per cent annual returns the NZS has earned over the last three years are likely to be “among the best years the Fund will… [Read More…]
GMO parts company with top Australian executives
GMO, the big global quant-orientated value manager, has parted company with three of its most senior executives in Australasia, including the chief executive and head of business in Australia and the chief operating officer, both of whom were based in Sydney. Another senior person based in Singapore has suddenly left the organisation. Glen Howard, who… [Read More…]