Martin Spedding
Client admin costs could be cut by up to 40 per cent through Bluedoor 2.0, according to DST Global Solutions’ Philip Hogan, and the system could be the silver bullet that smaller super funds have been looking for.
…but its admin business is firing
Russell Investment’s member administration business has experienced positive growth since the launching of a new administration model in January.
Russell must search for new super boss…
Russell Investments has seen its director of superannuation poached after 16 years with the company.
UniSuper beams more capital into global tech
UniSuper has invested more than $200 million in a second mandate focused on global technology stocks as it searches for alpha in equity markets worldwide.
Private equity stuck in the doldrums
The global rate of private equity fundraising remains at its slowest since 2003, however there are some positive signs for the asset class with more general partners holding interim closes on funds during the first quarter of 2011.
We don't need the whole industry now: admin alliance
A spokesman for an alliance formed by seven member administrators, which aims to collaborate to deliver Superstream initiatives, recognises there are some notable absences from its ranks but that it’s more important to get an industry-led response happening now.
Making news in March 2011
Everything that happened in the worlds of superannuation, funds management and investment administration last month… John Langoulant was appointed as chairman of GES B, the $11.5 billion Western Australia public sector fund, for a five-year term. Langoulant is the CEO of Oakajee Port & Rail and is a former chief of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA. General Electric expects to be required to contribute about US$1.4 billion to its GE Pension Plan in 2012 — the first employer contribution to the plan since 1987, the company announced last month. The plan’s funding status fell from 87.5 per cent to 86.2 per cent over the year to December 31, 2010. Implemented Portfolios, a consultant to dealer groups on portfolio construction, affirmed defensive strategies for its model portfolios, as developed markets continued to show subdued growth outlooks in its investment committee’s 10 year growth forecast.
PE managers adrift in consultant limbo
The private equity industry has done a poor job of convincing asset consultants and superannuation fund trustees of its capabilities, conceded Les Fallick, founder of placement agent Principle Advisory Services. Speaking at the AVCJ Private Equity and Venture Forum, held last month in Sydney, Fallick said most of the support the industry had won since the mid-1990s was mainly from private equity specialists within super funds. This meant private equity vendors aiming to raise funds often met strong resistance from investment committees because relationships with trustees were poor.
In emerging markets, new betas are still better
Until now, emerging markets have been bought on the growth of their underlying economies and the relative outperformance of their share markets over the past two decades. But investors can still do better than this. Traditional investment approaches are facing challenges in emerging markets, according to Dr Henry Zhao, CEO of Beijingbased Harvest Fund Management. With most emerging markets, such as China, having beaten Western economies for 20 years, some investors are looking to lighten up their exposures. However work by Dr Zhao and Harvest shows that there are better ways to construct a beta portfolio in China and other emerging markets than the traditional market capitalisation-weighted benchmarks. And because the emerging markets are still less efficient than developed markets, there is a lot of alpha to be had on top as well.
Shock and ore: commodities’ strong run
Normal 0 false false false EN-AU X-NONE X-NONE
/* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
Commodity markets may provide the clearest insights into the short-term risks that global investors now face. Civil uprisings across the Middle East, sparking the type of geopolitical “event risk” that can benefit commodity prices, have driven up the price of oil and incited fears among investors that it could undermine the global recovery, said Colin O’Shea, head of commodities at Hermes Fund Managers. Throughout February and into mid-March, when Investment Magazine went to press, the price of oil surged by more than US$20 a barrel to beyond US$100 as investors feared the people of Saudi Arabia would, like those of Egypt and Libya, openly protest against their authoritarian rulers. Investors’ uncertainty was obvious as equity markets sold off and gold was bought for more than US$1,400 an ounce.
