Investment News

Rising yields and the increased potential for capital gains have revitalised a long moribund global bond market but NZ investors remain well underweight the asset class, a new Russell Investments paper argues. Russell NZ investment analyst, Sam Tither, says in the note: “The New Zealand bond market represents less than 0.5% of the global opportunity… [Read More…]

NZ and Australia are among a group of countries most at risk of recession during 2024, according to a new PIMCO analysis. Authored by PIMCO economist, Tiffany Wilding, and fixed income chief investment officer, Andrew Balls, the note published last week says those economies “with more interest-rate-sensitive, variable-rate debt markets are likely to slow at… [Read More…]

Industry body Financial Advice NZ has confirmed ex-pat Kiwi, Nick Hakes, will succeed Katrina Shanks as permanent chief executive. Hakes is set to assume the new role at the end of February with Tony Dench holding the fort in the meantime. Dench took over in an interim capacity in November as inaugural Financial Advice NZ… [Read More…]

Interest rates aren’t going back to what the current generation of investors consider ‘normal’ anytime soon, according to Oaktree’s Howard Marks, and different strategies will outperform in the years to come. After a period of upheaval that’s lasted nearly five years, investors are counting on an economic soft landing (i.e. no recession) and a rapid… [Read More…]

Long-time Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) principal and influential member of the NZ actuarial profession, Bernard Reid, died last week “unexpectedly but peacefully”, according to a brief obituary. Reid was well-known in the local superannuation and investment sector, providing advice to many schemes over the last few decades both at MJW and in his previous 14-year… [Read More…]

Momentum is building for a ‘master trust’ solution to the NZ defined benefit (DB) pension legacy problem that could ultimately shelter almost 40 schemes with current estimated assets of more than $520 million under a single administrative and governance umbrella. Chapman Tripp consultant, Mike Woodbury, said the DB master trust concept, first floated in a… [Read More…]

Mint Asset Management parent firm, Amplifi, will ramp up efforts to grow its financial advice arm following the departure of managing director, Fred Ohlsson, this month. Rebecca Thomas, Mint chief, said Amplifi would concentrate on suitable acquisitions in the independent financial advice sector rather than larger investment or wealth management buyouts. Thomas, now also leading… [Read More…]

Heathcote Investment Partners founder, Clayton Coplestone, muses on the state of play and future prospects for the NZ financial advisory sector…   What an interesting year 2023 was with geopolitical events filling our news, artificial intelligence threatening to overtake actual intelligence, and stubborn inflation forcing interest rates to remain high. More locally, we have enjoyed… [Read More…]

BlackRock is to trim up to 600 jobs, or about 3 per cent of its global workforce in a move announced last week as the world’s biggest fund manager also reclaimed the US$10 trillion heights and splashed out US$12.5 billion on an infrastructure outfit. The latest staff cuts follow a similar headcount reduction last year… [Read More…]

Global regulators are set to squeeze fund managers further on liquidity arrangements over the next few years following the release of updated recommendations by peak financial bodies at the end of 2023. The revised Financial Stability Board (FSB) proto-rules will put the onus on member regulators to tighten open-ended fund liquidity practices and push managers… [Read More…]