Funds shakeout coming, says Bennelong chief

The Australian market has too many domestic and international fund managers and is heading for a major “structural shift”, according to chief executive of Bennelong Funds Management, Jarrod Brown. In an interview with I&T News, Brown said that while his boutique – which manages around $3 billion for a range of Australian institutions – had … Read more

State Street wins latest custody battle

State Street Corporation has scored a win over main rival National Australia Bank in the custody sector, winning a custody mandate from $625-million fund, Christian Super. The appointment follows a review of its custody arrangements by the fund, with chief executive Peter Murphy saying that Christian Super’s strong growth in the last few years had … Read more

Coming soon: emerging market corporate debt

Debt issues by emerging market corporations might seem risky and volatile at the moment, but it was set to develop strongly as an asset class, according to HSBC’s Marge Karner. A senior portfolio manager with HSBC Global Asset Management, Karner told I&T News that despite its growing prominence, “emerging-market corporate debt still remains an under-owned … Read more

Minister improves trustee gender balance

The federal government has announced funding for a scholarship program aimed at improving the gender balance of superannuation boards. Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten has announced $150,000 funding for the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and Women in Super (WIS) to deliver the program. The scholarship will enable qualified women to … Read more

Post-retirement solutions
“thin on the ground”

Post-retirement represents the biggest challenge to Australia’s superannuation industry and yet the sector was failing to address the growing issues either through advice or through product design. These are the views of the author of a white paper, entitled Boomer, Herding, Denial and Zeitgeist, published last week by research house Lonsec and actuaries Milliman. The … Read more

Discovering dignity

“How can invalidity claims be managed – applying strict, legalistic definitions – and yet reduce anxiety and defuse anger as such processes provoke?” I addressed this question at the recent Conexus Financial Group Insurance Summit, where I explored how I reviewed an invalidity-claims process for a public sector super fund, leading to a halving of … Read more

Industry at a crossroads

Over the past 20 years, the median fund returned 6.6 per cent per annum, which is in line with the consumer-price-index plus 3.5-per-cent target that many balanced options state in their objectives. Most funds are in the process of distributing annual member statements with a message of positive, albeit modest, performance. While results are currently … Read more

Size and scalability up, fees down

The world’s largest asset managers should be using the advantages of their size and scalability to adjust their fee structures, according to Craig Baker, global head of manager research at Towers Watson, which just released this year’s Pensions & Investments/Towers Watson World 500. “The advantage of a large manager is they could structure their fees … Read more

Rampa up at Lend Lease, infrastructure launch at Quay

Lend Lease has appointed Kylie Rampa to the position of managing director for its Australian investment management business, reporting to Tarun Gupta, chief executive officer of property in Australia. In this role Rampa will oversee the group’s $8.8-billion Australian funds management and separate mandates platform, which also includes responsibility for its retail asset management and … Read more

Rampa up at Lend Lease, infrastructure launch at Quay

Lend Lease has appointed Kylie Rampa to the position of managing director for its Australian investment management business, reporting to Tarun Gupta, chief executive officer of property in Australia. In this role Rampa will oversee the group’s $8.8-billion Australian funds management and separate mandates platform, which also includes responsibility for its retail asset management and … Read more

Great Southern sham? Court to decide

The story of failed managed-investment scheme Great Southern was a “familiar one of greed”, the Supreme Court of Victoria was told this week. The long-awaited class action brought by more than 20,000 investors in the failed forestry group began this week, the court packed with more than 30 lawyers representing investors, Great Southern directors and also … Read more