Morningstar spends $83 million in institutional foray

Morningstar Inc, the recently listed US research firm, has paid $US83 million to buy asset allocation firm Ibbotson Associates – a deal that will help its Australian subsidiary expand into the fund-of-funds and superannuation markets.

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Bravura proposes one platform to rule them all

Bravura Solutions is consolidating its recent acquisitions into a ‘next generation’ platform which it plans to launch in October. The platform will be for the entire financial services industry and already has a number of seed clients, according to the group’s new chief technology officer, Enda Mahoney.

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Queensland planning group brings in the big guns

The transition from partner in large corporate accounting firms to running a relatively tiny financial planning operation has been an exciting one for Paul Bodimeade. He now heads up the medium sized financial services firm Managed Financial Strategy but the Queensland-based business has greater ambitions

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MLC on commodities: maybe this time it’s different

While Australia’s fortunes have been closely linked to commodity prices over the very long term, Australian investors have been wary of commodities as an asset class – perhaps until now. MLC has issued a briefing note as to whether the latest bull market in commodities is a fad or here to stay.

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