Investment News

War and plague have disrupted the geopolitical peace over the last three years with far-reaching consequences for international trade and economic growth. If COVID exposed the flaws of ‘just-in-time’ supply chains, the outbreak of conflict in Ukraine and growing tensions elsewhere (notably between China and the US, and Gaza) put the globalisation trend on ice…. [Read More…]

Global pension funds are facing increasing political pressure to alter investment strategies, according to The Thinking Ahead Institute (TAI). In its latest survey of the world’s biggest pension funds, TAI – a research subsidiary of Willis Towers Watson (WTW) – says growth in the retirement savings sector has triggered government action. “The principal influence of… [Read More…]

Berkshire Hathaway is built to last, and probably will, with low debt levels and a vast waterfall of earnings that both insulate it against market mania and give it the capacity to act decisively during it. But when your market cap is nearly a trillion US dollars, there’s few deals that can truly move the… [Read More…]

Funds management ended 2023 as the single-largest revenue-generating business for the NZX following a string of recent acquisitions but with some costs and risks ahead. According to the NZX annual results handed down last week, the funds division comprising Smartshares, SuperLife, QuayStreet and the former ASB superannuation master trust reported top-line income of almost $37… [Read More…]

Thom Bentley has been made redundant from the Australian alternative investments specialist iPartners following an 18-month stint as the group’s NZ head of capital markets. Bentley joined iPartners, which has launched two wholesale portfolio investment entity (PIE) funds, in November 2022 after serving for a similar period as the NZ head for Australian firm, Betashares…. [Read More…]

Offshore competitors are vying for a seat at the NZ fund administration table with local boutique managers set to consider a menu of alternatives next month. The Boutique Investment Group (BIG) has scheduled meetings with Australian start-up, The Fund Alliance, early in March to weigh up potential challenger back-office service suppliers in three areas. In… [Read More…]

ASX-listed investment administration firm, Bravura, booked a slight year-on-year gain in revenue for final half of 2023 with its NZ arm the fastest-growing segment. According to the Bravura half-year results released last week, the NZ division saw top-line income grow from A$5.7 million in the last six months of 2022 to more than A$8.8 million… [Read More…]

As the ‘buy-everything’ rally kicked off in late 2023 fades, fixed income investors will need to be a little more discerning in their shopping habits, according to Leon Grenyer, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) head of European multi-sector. In NZ last week on tour with Salt Funds Management, Grenyer said the bond market enthusiasm sparked… [Read More…]

Australia-based global small-to-mid cap stock specialist, Fairlight Asset Management, ticked off some big numbers in 2023: five years in business, A$1 billion under management and a 33 per cent annual return for its flagship (and only) fund. The singular focus on so-called SMIDs is somewhat out of fashion as a handful of glamourous mega-stocks (or… [Read More…]

Defying recent bullish sentiment investment specialists across the US-listed multi-affiliate firm, Franklin Templeton, expect markets to end 2024 much as they started. According to the inaugural Franklin Templeton Institute survey of 300 senior investment staff, the S&P 500 benchmark is likely to close the year with an index reading of 4,744. The S&P 500 breached… [Read More…]