Roger Ibbotson has stepped back from the investment consulting and academic fields – in which he built his reputation – to spend most of his professional time running money.
Unbalanced
New gig for AllianceBernstein face The face of AllianceBernstein for many, director of intermediary relationships Bruce Garratt, has left Australia for a US-based role with the manager. However there is some conjecture over whether Garratt’s move was prompted by the uncertain nature of his gig here – planners tied to AB’s majority owner, Axa, account … Read more
What’s wrong with our balanced approach?
More than halfway through the Government’s review of our super system, it’s clear that Jeremy Cooper and his review panel have big plans for the super industry. While acknowledging that our compulsory super system has served its members well, Cooper has made no secret that he has little time for the “it aint broke, why fix it?” view of the world. But it is Cooper’s proposed model for super funds – as outlined in the panel’s preliminary report – that has many in the super industry scratching their heads. Cooper’s new architecture essentially involves four categories of funds for four types of investors – a no-frills “universal” fund to cater for disengaged investors; a suite of “choice” funds for “engaged” members (defined as those who make an active choice); a “conservative” fund for “disconnected” investors; and a self-managed fund for those who wish to direct their own retirement.
SuperChoice switch from Westpac to ANZ ups transparency
SuperChoice, which processes super contributions made by 50,000 Australian employers, has eliminated the “hand-off ” it once had to make to Westpac via an interface with ANZ which allows it to track transactions every step of the way, according to chief executive officer Peter Philip. The superannuation sector is a “strategic priority” for ANZ, according to the head of its Funds Australia division Philip Carmont, so the banking relationship with SuperChoice “made sense” alongside other better known plays such as its buy-out of ING Australia and rumoured interest in IOOF.
‘Best execution’ in your ear over a beer
Instinet, the 11th largest institutional broker of Australian assets and biggest agency-only player, can now continue its calls for ‘best execution’ legislation from a desk in Sydney, after it received full ASX membership last month. The fee-bundled, uncompetitive nature of the Australian broking market is best illustrated by the difference in market share concentrations between … Read more
'Best execution' in your ear over a beer
Instinet, the 11th largest institutional broker of Australian assets and biggest agency-only player, can now continue its calls for ‘best execution’ legislation from a desk in Sydney, after it received full ASX membership last month. The fee-bundled, uncompetitive nature of the Australian broking market is best illustrated by the difference in market share concentrations between … Read more
60 Investment Magazine March 2010 administration Performance standards will benefit all … eventually
The Global Investment Performance Standards aim to achieve full disclosure and fair representation of investment performance, writes DREW VAUGHAN. More awareness of the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) is needed by institutional investors as well as investment management firms and preparers of investment performance information. The GIPS standards are ethical principles that apply to the way investment performance is calculated and presented to prospective and existing clients of investment management firms.
Asset consultants sign up for global manager database
Three of Australia’s four asset consultants have signed up for eVestment Alliance, a web-based provider of investment data and analytic technology which competes with Mercer’s Global Investment Manager Database (which is entrenched enough to be known colloquially as ‘the Jim D’). eVestment differentiates itself from Mercer’s offering in various crucial ways, says eVestment’s president Asia Pacific, Frithjof “Fridge” van Zyp. Unlike Mercer, which is an asset consultant, “we’re a third party online software, services and information provider. Our focus is on collecting data and developing software to run analytics.
Consolidating super funds a Kafkaesque ‘Trial’
When Investment Magazine journalist PHILIPPA YELLAND was instructed to consolidate her four super funds and write a diary of the experience, we were hoping for a tale of straight-through processing and customer satisfaction. We didn’t get one. In fact, she found many similarities between her experiences and those of ‘Josef K.’ in Franz Kafka’s ‘The Trial’, the classic story of a citizen tormented by a remote, inaccessible authority. “SOMEONE must have been telling tales about Josef K, for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested … There was a knock at the door and a man he had never seen in the apartment came in.” The Trial, Franz Kafka*
Uncovering the ABCs – alphas, betas and costs – of hedge funds
Hedge funds, in aggregate, have generated positive alpha in the past 11 years. This finding, made by Roger Ibbotson, founder of Ibbotson Associates and Professor of Finance at Yale University, proves the strategies can resist powerful market declines but often fall short of providing absolute returns to investors. Investors should learn the ABCs – alphas, betas and costs – of hedge funds. SIMON MUMME reports.
Asia, Europe fight for slice of unlisted portfolio pie
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An unspoken argument between Asia [with its ‘greenfield’ risk of the developing world] and Continental Europe [with its ‘brownfield’ stability] was fought between two unlisted manager visitors to Australia last month. MICHAEL BAILEY reports.
