Market MARQ up
A new reporting and analytics platform for securitisation issues, including covered bonds, has been launched for the Australian market. Oliver Wyman, Perpetual and Morgij Analytics have launched MARQ Services, a platform that provides standardised data, reporting and analytics for the Australian residential-mortgage-backed-securities (RMBS) and covered bond markets. Where ratings agencies analyse debt, the MARQ system … Read more
Palisade storming social infrastructure
Palisade Investment Partners is seeing increasing interest from large funds in social infrastructure, with director Roger Lloyd saying that the assets’ steady yielding, lower risk characteristics are attractive diversifiers. This bullish outlook for mid-market infrastructure-asset demand comes as Palisade announces it had reached financial closure with the Plenary Group on an equity acquisition in the … Read more
Positive start for super funds
Australian super funds have begun the new financial year in positive territory, with the median balanced option posting a 1.1-per-cent gain for the month of July. Research from SuperRatings shows that the July result was driven by a 3.1-per-cent gain for Australian share options and positive contributions from property, fixed interest and cash. A stronger … Read more
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 … Read more
Insurance the next big
issue for trustees
Maintenance of insurance data will become “one of the biggest issues” for trustees in coming years, according to Richard Weatherhead, head of life insurance at Rice Warner Actuaries. Weatherhead says a combination of tightened regulation from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA), along with the provisions of the new MySuper legislation, will make insurance a … Read more
Abbott clarifies super stance
The federal opposition leader, Tony Abbott, has confirmed his commitment to increase the superannuation guarantee from 9 to 12 per cent in correspondence with Investment Magazine Online. The support of the increase comes in the wake of ambiguity about the opposition’s stance on the matter fuelled by the press department of Minister for Financial Services and … Read more
Super fund fusion
Mergers can benefit superannuation funds: favourable mandate structures, terms and fees can be secured; co-investments or direct investments in unlisted assets can be made; more money to allocate becomes available in a capital-constrained world; and capital-gains-tax credits can be used to offset future profits from domestic stocks. What can go wrong? Funds don’t agree on … Read more
Self-service consumers to drive IT spend
Growing demand from consumers wanting to manage their finances from mobile devices will be a major driver for an increased IT spend by wealth managers, according to technology analysts Ovum. Ovum forecasts that IT spending by the global wealth-management industry will reach almost $35 billion by 2016, with a heavy investment in digital channels. In … Read more
Income investing in turbulent times
More than half of Asian institutional investors plan to increase their allocations to European and US investment-grade bonds in the next five years, research reveals. The independent research carried out by Greenwich Associates for Fidelity Worldwide found Asian investors were willing to move up the risk spectrum in their fixed-income investments and were prepared to … Read more
Jumping to JP Morgan
JP Morgan has today announced a series of sales appointments to drive the strong growth of its treasury services business in Australia and New Zealand. The new hires include the appointment of Jason Clinton as head of financial institution group sales, JP Morgan Treasury Services (TS). Clinton brings to the TS business deep global and … Read more
Third strike for BNP Paribas Securities Services
BNP Paribas Securities Services’ local custody and settlement services has added its third client since its launch in May, winning the business of EFG Bank, a Zurich-headquartered global private bank. EFG Bank has appointed BNP Paribas as both its global and local custodian in four markets covered by the group’s 23 branches around the world. … Read more
