The US-headquartered quantitative investment shop, Acadian Asset Management, has combined climate change and artificial intelligence (AI) in a first-of-a-kind tool aimed at assessing portfolio and corporate net zero target achievement probabilities. Andy Moniz, Acadian responsible investing director, said the new system – the first net zero system to use the technology underpinning AI superstar, ChatGPT… [Read More…]
Investment News
Sovereigns at a loss but gear up for alternative future, Invesco finds
The long-running Invesco global sovereign investor report has recorded the first-ever aggregate loss for the sector since inception of the survey in 2013. According to the Invesco ‘Global sovereign asset management study’, the 85 sovereign wealth fund (SWF) respondents suffered an overall loss of -3.5 per cent over 2022 as most asset classes took a… [Read More…]
Edmonds ascends to peak Apex NZ role
Implemented Investment Solutions (IIS) founder, Anthony Edmonds, has been named country head of the company that bought the fund-hosting business and direct-to-consumer platform last year. Edmonds assumes the top job for the Apex Group NZ operations that includes IIS (now rebranded to FundRock NZ) and its InvestNow subsidiary as well as the fund administration arm,… [Read More…]
Northland council $70m fund advisory job open for interest with fee barrier
The Northland Regional Council (NRC) has put management of its almost $70 million investment fund in play after calling for expressions of interest last week. In a proposal document, the NRC says applicants must “have the professional skills and expertise that can be reasonably expected of a professional investment advisory service”. Auckland-based actuarial consulting firm,… [Read More…]
It’s now or whenever: this time is the same
Watch, worry and wait. The new Reserve Bank of NZ monetary mantra might work for official interest rate-setters but the pat slogan offers little of value for investors, according to the June quarter Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) investment. Ben Trollip, MJW principal, says in the report published last week that a growing number of investors… [Read More…]
AMP slides, Westpac swings in retail funds playground
NZ retail funds market share figures remained mostly static during the 12 months to the end of March, according to new Plan for Life (PFL) data, as AMP recorded the largest movement either way after giving up 0.5 per cent to competitors. The PFL March quarter report published last week shows AMP retail market share… [Read More…]
Mercer CIO sees hedge fund green shoots as alts set to bloom…
Investor sentiment is turning back in favour of hedge funds as the reformed sector puts some shine back on a reputation dimmed during the post global financial crisis (GFC) era, according to Mercer global chief investment officer, Hooman Kaveh. In NZ last week on client visits, Kaveh said institutional investors were slowly regaining enthusiasm for… [Read More…]
… as study finds best hedge funds earn their keep
Hedge funds have significantly outperformed the broader US equity index over the last five years… but only an elite cohort of managers claimed the win, according to a long-running report on the sector. The 2023 BarclayHedge survey of the top 50 hedge funds – now in its 20th edition – found the high-performing managers returned… [Read More…]
Re-emerging markets: wheel turns for EM after ‘lost decade’
Emerging markets (EM) have been through two ‘super-phases’ since the 1980s, Thomas Allraum, Redwheel co-portfolio manager, told a Russell Investments NZ webinar last week. But the EM boom times remain a distant memory for most investors who have suffered through more than a decade of underperformance compared to developed world counterparts that Allraum labelled as… [Read More…]
Objective targets relief for climate-reporting information overload
Among 200 or so entities most NZ fund managers are sketching out inaugural mandatory climate reports due to be tabled next year. Motivated by the theory that ‘what gets measured, gets managed’ and modelled on the global Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, the NZ experiment has inevitably triggered anxiety about the practical consequences… [Read More…]