Charity development fund appoints JANA as asset consultant
Religious charitable development fund Uniting Financial Services (UFS) has appointed asset consultancy JANA to advise its investments.
Sequoia appoints WA/SA state manager
Sequoia Financial Group has appointed Bernie Fernandes as the state manager of Western and South Australia.
Climate report for funds on the horizon with draft legislation
Super funds will need to bring climate-related reporting onto the top of their agenda as many will soonbe required to provide an audited sustainability report, according to draft legislation released by the Treasury on Friday.
HESTA’s Blakey says YFYS tweaks will unleash investment innovation
HESTA CEO Debby Blakey says a review of the YFYS performance test, announced at the exclusive investor roundtable held by the Treasurer last year, aligns the government and funds on freeing CIOs from benchmark-hugging and becoming more innovative with investments.
FAAA backs changes to financial adviser exam
The Financial Advice Association Australia (FAAA) has backed the government’s proposed changes to the financial adviser exam, including making the exam completely multiple choice, removing restrictions on who can sit the exam, and allowing students to sit the exam at a stage that is suitable for them.
Emboldened oil and gas sector won’t commit to climate transition
Oil and gas companies will view the COP28 outcome as giving them permission to continue to seek approval for new projects while claiming incorporating mitigation technologies into these projects is a credible transition plan. When a company has clearly chosen not to be part of the climate solution, asset owners need to be bold – and even use their combined voting power to seek to changes the board.
Fiduciary duty must be protected from both sides of politics
The latest thought bubble from the federal Coalition to cap ownership of public companies by super funds undermines its criticism of the government for urging funds to back national causes like decarbonisation and housing affordability. CIOs and their teams must be freed from the serious danger of ideological interference by both sides.
Centrepoint chair resigns after four months in the role
Chair of ASX-listed financial advice licensee Centrepoint Alliance, Simon Swanson, has resigned effective immediately, after taking over the role in August last year.
Endeavour Securities directors fined $390k by ASIC
Coporate watchdog ASIC has ordered four current and former directors of Endeavour Securities and Linchpin Capital Group to collectively pay $390,000 in penalties.
UniSuper’s Robert Hogg joins asset manager as group CIO
SG Hiscock & Company has appointed UniSuper talent Robert Hogg as group chief investment officer, taking over from executive chair Stephen Hiscock.
Vanguard wary of unlisted assets, but keeps door open
A year since its launch, Vanguard Super is pushing close to $1 billion of AUM and deems the result a success. Local boss Daniel Shrimski says demand is being driven by the fund sticking to what it does best: low-cost investing in liquid assets. But it hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of following industry fund peers into unlisted assets.
‘Dedollarisation’ threatens to distort the bond market
As US foes ditch dollar-denominated assets to escape the reach of Washington’s financial sanctions, investors should expect more upward pressure on the world’s most consequential bond yields.
