Investment News

The proposed sale of Trustees Executors (TE) has reached stalemate, according to sources close to the deal. As reported in Australian press in January, UBS put TE out for second-round bids on February 5 with at least three prospective buyers lined up: listed Australian trustee firm, Equity Trustees (EQT); Link Market Services; and, diversified Australian… [Read More…]

The joint venture between SBS subsidiary, Funds Administration New Zealand (FANZ), and Staples Rodway Asset Management (SRAM) will create a collective investment pool of $800 million, according to FANZ chief, Graham Duston. Under the deal announced last week, FANZ will take a 50 per cent share in SRAM, the investment management arm of accounting firm… [Read More…]

Forsyth Barr has amalgamated its KiwiSaver and funds management units under a single banner, introducing a raft of other changes in the process. As at February 27 this year the two businesses merged to form Forsyth Barr Investment Management (FBIM), which is responsible for the group’s six pooled unit trusts. Last year, the firm shut… [Read More…]

The Towers Watson-sponsored Thinking Ahead Institute, launched last year and currently supported by 30 fiduciary investors and fund management groups, has completed a draft of its first research paper, ambitiously entitled ‘The State of the Industry’. When the final version is published to the industry as a whole this year, it is likely to make… [Read More…]

The Australian funds management industry will be on level-pegging tax-wise with New Zealand under Australian Treasury proposals published last week. Currently, offshore investors – either through a widely-held foreign-domiciled fund or a locally-based fund – may be subject to Australian tax. However, under part three of the Investment Management Regime (IMR) proposals – due to… [Read More…]

New Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) variable annuity rules are close to sign-off with final responses to an exposure draft due last week. First mooted last September, the RBNZ proposals would amend life insurance solvency standards to allow greater flexibility for variable annuity providers. “The aim of the proposed capital treatment was to ensure… [Read More…]

The field of data and analytics has become one of the top priorities for both fund managers and asset owners, according to a major survey by State Street. And diversification into new asset classes, coupled with the rise of multi-asset investing is a key driver, especially for the asset owners. The State Street survey of… [Read More…]

The New Zealand Debt Management Office (NZDMO) is looking to reboot its back-office with a “robust ‘industry leading’ technology platform”. Tenders for the NZDMO job closed last Friday (March 6) with a number of local and global financial technology players understood to be interested. “This will be the first stage towards selecting a single external… [Read More…]

Harbour Asset Management crew Andrew Bascand, Shane Solly and Craig Stent mull over the latest round of Australasian corporate profit reports and where NZ and Australia equity markets may go next. At an aggregate level the latest earnings round for both New Zealand and Australia provided little movement in prospective earnings. The profit reporting season… [Read More…]

Wrap provider FNZ (NZ) booked an operating loss of more than $21 million in its latest published accounts after it marked down an expected earn-out payment for the 2012 sale of its UK business by over $20 million. Last week the company also confirmed its UK CEO, Martin Jennings, would depart before the end of… [Read More…]