Hermes Fund Managers has been awarded a $90-million environmental, social and governance mandate by Local Government Super for a developed-world equities fund. Hermes director, Ian Manton-Hall, told IM Online that the fund was similar to another of the firm’s funds for core investor, the BT Pension Scheme, but with some particular overlays specifically for Local … Read more
Many superannuation funds that suffered losses to their alternatives portfolios during the global financial crisis were not using the asset class for its intended purpose – to diversify portfolio risk. So says Simon Eagleton, Mercer’s investment head for Australian and New Zealand, who believes many of the alternative assets that funds invested in carried the … Read more
We’re launching the Investment Magazine Chief Investment Officer Survey (imCIOS). imCIOS will look at the investment allocations, teams, outlook and decision-making of Australia’s institutional investors. It will be the basis of an ongoing analysis of this sector, measuring the sentiment, investment outlook and behaviours of these investors. To achieve this, we need your input. We ask … Read more
AMP Capital’s Community Infrastructure Fund (CommIF) has handed a key social infrastructure project back to the Government of Victoria but despite the milestone, a dearth of future projects could send investors and infrastructure developers offshore, particularly at the top end of the market. AMP’s CommIF designed, constructed and maintained 228 communication sites and towers, as … Read more
Ever since last Tuesday Castlereagh has had that awful feeling you get after a blinder, when you’ve done things you wish you couldn’t remember. It was the Melbourne Cup, of course, and I was down there to hob nob in various hospitality tents with all my friends and connections from all over Australia and the … Read more
Vanguard has announced that Greg Davis, principal and head of bond indexing in Vanguard’s fixed income group, will assume the chief investment officer role for the Asia Pacific region in 2013. Davis, who has been with Vanguard for 13 years, currently has responsibility for managing in excess of US$240 billion in bond index portfolios. He … Read more
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 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
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
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 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
“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
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Investment Magazine provides in-depth, monthly analysis of trends and developments for all the businesses in which superannuation funds engage‚ including asset allocation, investment manager selection, custody and fund accounting, member administration, group insurance and compliance.
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