Investment News

It’s been a bad year for US active equity managers. Make that 10 years. As GMO asset allocation specialists, Ben Inker and John Pease, point out in a new paper, under 10 per cent of active ‘core’ US fund managers outperformed over the last decade. “… the reason why the S&P 500 and other U.S…. [Read More…]

Financial Services Council (FSC) chief, Richard Klipin, has resigned after a seven-year tenure with the industry body. In a statement, FSC chair, Rob Flannagan, said Klipin would remain in charge until the board finds a successor – likely to be a matter of months. “Under Richard’s leadership over the past seven years we’ve developed from a… [Read More…]

Anti-ESG sentiment drove equity fund flows into negative territory last year, new Calastone data shows, in a sharp reversal of recent trends. The Calastone report says funds transacted across its global network carrying environmental, social and governance labels saw net outflows of US$10.2 billion in 2023 in a pattern repeated “in every one of our… [Read More…]

BlackRock is recruiting a head for the NZ business amid a change in the Australasian leadership structure. In a move announced last week, Jason Collins, previously BlackRock deputy head Australasia, has been promoted to head of Australia with some responsibilities for the NZ business set to be on-shored. According to a spokesperson, BlackRock is “in… [Read More…]

The NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) underperformed its passive reference portfolio last year by almost 2.3 per cent even as strong nominal returns and government contributions took assets under management close to $70 billion. During the calendar year, the sovereign wealth fund was up about 16 per cent as most asset classes staged a revival, compared… [Read More…]

InvestNow has launched hedged versions of two Vanguard exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed products that have pulled in more than $100 million in little over a year. The direct-to-consumer platform released the Vanguard-managed funds at the back-end of 2022 under the in-house Foundation Series brand. Tracking US S&P 500 and global equities benchmarks, the two funds… [Read More…]

The Financial Services Council (FSC) locked in another industry association merger last work just as a new adviser body arrived on the scene after a long period of unity in the sector. Under an arrangement confirmed last week, Women in Super NZ (WIS) has agreed to officially join the FSC, ending a 23-year stretch as… [Read More…]

Mercer has flagged credit, private debt, hedge funds and resources as key investment opportunities as the world adjusts to game-changing circumstances. Nick White, Mercer global strategic research director, told a Pacific region clients in a webinar last week that investors face challenges across the short-, medium- and long-term requiring an agile approach to asset allocation…. [Read More…]

The ups and downs of 2023 have shifted the fortunes of active managers in the eyes of the big institutional investors that hold the keys to trillions of dollars in retirement savings. But they’re still fretting volatility and valuations. Super funds, public and private pension funds and endowments think active management is back in a… [Read More…]

The hedge fund sector struggled again in 2023 as aggregate mediocre performance coincided with net outflows, a new report reveals. According to data compiled by specialist US investment firm, Aurum, the median hedge fund returned 7.2 per cent over the 2023 calendar year compared to over 19 per cent for global equities while bonds rose… [Read More…]