Investment News

By Greg Bright* The ‘value chain’ in funds management, currently worth about 100bps, will deflate by 70-90bps in the next five-10 years, according to Ashley Porter, the founder of the zero-fee self-managed superannuation fund admin company McLowd. He provided a shock-and-awe presentation to the industry on the Gold Coast last week. At the ‘My Platform… [Read More…]

The global equity risk premium (ERP) over US Treasury bills held at a steady 4.3 per cent during the last 115 years, according to the latest Credit Suisse ‘Global investment returns yearbook’. In the latest iteration of its well-respected annual market statistical analysis, authored by the London Business School’s Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike… [Read More…]

With the new KiwiSaver ‘Homestart’ program set to go in a month, some providers are worried the enabling legislation may not be enacted in time for the implementation deadline. While providers are gearing up to handle Homestart applications from April 1, the Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC) considering the ‘Taxation (KiwiSaver HomeStart and Remedial Matters)… [Read More…]

By Greg Bright* Mercer Sentinel is looking to expand its capabilities in workflows among super funds and other clients, targeting inefficiencies between front, middle and back-office systems and procedures. Peter Baker, who joined the firm as Australia and New Zealand head late last year, has already recruited a senior consultant. Baker, who joined from BNP… [Read More…]

Swiss wealth management firm and ANZ global equities partner, Vontobel Asset Management, has signed up former Russell NZ consultant, Bobby Ross Bostic Jr, to drive institutional sales in Australasia. Bostic, who finished a six-month stint with Russell NZ last February, would support Vontobel AM’s “growing activities in Australia and New Zealand”, the firm said in… [Read More…]

Restricted KiwiSaver and workplace super schemes could face a demand squeeze on independent trustees with just five licensed to date under the new Financial Markets Conduct Act (FMC). Bruce Kerr, head of Workplace Savings NZ, said the “best guess” suggests 20-25 independent trustees should be adequate to service the super industry under FMC – depending… [Read More…]

Harbour Asset Management has launched a new wholesale global equities Portfolio Investment Entity (PIE) fund in association with renowned Baltimore-based growth manager, T Rowe Price. While T Rowe Price markets to larger institutions here directly, Andrew Bascand, Harbour managing director, said the deal would give smaller-scale New Zealand investors tax-effective access to one of the… [Read More…]

The NZX will hand over its first bonus payment of $5 million to Superlife’s former owners if the unit retains funds under management (FUM) at current levels for a year. According to an NZX presentation accompanying the release of its annual results last week, the group will pay out $5 million to Superlife’s ex owners… [Read More…]

The New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZS) was not the only sovereign wealth fund (SWFs) caught out by a soured Portuguese bank loan, according to sources close to the matter. It is understood a handful of as-yet-unnamed SWFs and global fund managers were exposed to the roughly US$800 million loan to now-bankrupt Banco Espírito Santo (BES)… [Read More…]

The majority of New Zealand share managers retained their benchmark-beating reputations over 2014, according to a new Mercer report. “Of the 11 managers in our survey benchmarked to the NZX50 Index, close to all outperformed, though the spread of outcomes was reasonably wide,” the Mercer survey says. David Scobie, Mercer NZ senior consultant and author… [Read More…]