Custody

OPERA for everyone

The Open Protocol Enabling Risk Aggregation (OPERA) is a collaborative effort involving hedge fund managers, investors, prime brokers and administrators. A working group has released a template that aims to streamline reporting and provide standardised information in order to create efficiencies for both investors and managers.   Transparency and reporting demand Telstra Super’s head of […]
Sam RileyAugust 27, 2012
Governance

AustralianSuper to expand internally

AustralianSuper is looking to add up to 20 investment staff as it moves to take part of the management of its Australian equity portfolio in-house. The $43-billion fund’s chief investment officer Mark Delaney says the fund’s 40-member investment team – half of which are in the policy part of the portfolio – will be expanded […]
Sam RileyAugust 20, 2012
Hedge Funds

Seeking action from ESG

The controversial state of financial regulation around the globe, the difficulties of green investing and watching asset consultants go head-to-head in front of a room full of potential clients were some of the highlights of the Australian Council of Super Investors (ACSI) annual conference. Held in Melbourne last month, the conference had a strong focus on […]
Sam RileyJuly 2, 2012
Hedge Funds

Investing in a nation for the good of the country

John Oliphant, head of actuarial and investments at South Africa’s $130-billion Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), says the fund considers high-impact investments that develop the domestic economy as being in the long-term interests of its members. “We [GEPF] are effectively a third of South Africa’s GDP so what we think is that if the country does […]
Sam RileyJune 18, 2012
Investment Strategy

HIP partners with Bridges Financial Services

The push by industry funds into the advice space continues to gain pace with the $630-million Health Industry Plan (HIP) announcing a strategic partnership with Bridges Financial Services. HIP’s more than 23,000 members will now have access to financial planners who charge on a fee-for-service basis. Members will receive flexible and scalable, single or multi-issue […]
Sam RileyJune 12, 2012
Administration

Super proxy votes gone astray

Outdated proxy voting systems mean that shareholder votes cast by superannuation funds on matters including executive pay and corporate strategy are at risk of being lost, say corporate-governance experts. Without system reform, proxy-voting errors from superannuation funds representing more than $1.3 trillion in working Australians’ capital are inevitable, says Dean Paatsch, director of Melbourne-based governance […]
Sam RileyMay 14, 2012
Unintentional

Infrastructure sales meet
pension funds

Some infrastructure fund managers promised private-equity-like returns to investors in the frothy days before the financial crisis. But their failure has not deterred pension funds in North America, Europe and Australia from buying infrastructure stakes in the days since. These investors share a renewed focus on capturing stable income from the assets and communicate this […]
Sam RileyMay 14, 2012
Hedge Funds

GESB gains control of fixed-income portfolio

Moving away from aggregate or composite-bond portfolios that mix credit and sovereign debt to awarding specific mandates will give the $12.8 billion Government Employees Superannuation Board (GESB) greater control of its fixed income portfolio. GESB recently announced $2.28 billion of new fixed-income mandates to three managers, and a wide-ranging restructure of its fixed-income portfolio. Steve […]
Sam RileyApril 30, 2012
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