ComSuper has announced it will outsource the administration functions of the 70,000-member Public Sector Superannuation Accumulation Plan (PSSap).
Choosing a transition manager…
in the one field that refuses to rationalise
Interest rates are not the only thing going up in Australia in defiance of the rest of the world. While the transition management marketplaces of London and New York have seen a number of investment banks exit, or at least ‘transition transition’ into their custody or asset management affiliates, in Australia the broker-dealers are standing strong, and in 2009 have even been joined by new competitors claiming ‘purer’ models.
Yet this abundance creates a problem for the chief investment officer wanting to move from Manager A to B. At least a dozen competitors are marketing seriously in Australia, and putting as many different spins on their service while doing so. These spins range from broker-dealer to pure agency multi-broker, asset manager, liquidity arranger, or project manager/consultant. So, a CIO could spend as long determining the right transition manager as they did deciding to transition in the first place.
MICHAEL BAILEY gets some guidance from consultants, and asks the transition managers (TMs) themselves, about how best to differentiate and negotiate in the transition management milieu.
Choosing a transition manager…
in the one field that refuses to rationalise
Interest rates are not the only thing going up in Australia in defiance of the rest of the world. While the transition management marketplaces of London and New York have seen a number of investment banks exit, or at least ‘transition transition’ into their custody or asset management affiliates, in Australia the broker-dealers are standing strong, and in 2009 have even been joined by new competitors claiming ‘purer’ models. Yet this abundance creates a problem for the chief investment officer wanting to move from Manager A to B. At least a dozen competitors are marketing seriously in Australia, and putting as many different spins on their service while doing so. These spins range from broker-dealer to pure agency multi-broker, asset manager, liquidity arranger, or project manager/consultant.How many super funds is the right number?
There hasn’t been a good political stoush in the superannuation industry for some time. The main game in recent years has been adequacy, with debate involving not whether we should be saving more but, rather, how we go about it. Enter Jeremy Cooper, drawing the ire of new IFSA chief executive, John Brogden, for perhaps … Read more
How many super funds is the right number?
There hasn’t been a good political stoush in the superannuation industry for some time. The main game in recent years has been adequacy, with debate involving not whether we should be saving more but, rather, how we go about it. Enter Jeremy Cooper, drawing the ire of new IFSA chief executive, John Brogden, for perhaps … Read more
How many super funds is the right number?
There hasn’t been a good political stoush in the superannuation industry for some time. The main game in recent years has been adequacy, with debate involving not whether we should be saving more but, rather, how we go about it. Enter Jeremy Cooper, drawing the ire of new IFSA chief executive, John Brogden, for perhaps jumping to conclusions before he has completed his inquiry into the industry – not due until the middle of next year.
How many super funds is the right number?
There hasn’t been a good political stoush in the superannuation industry for some time. The main game in recent years has been adequacy, with debate involving not whether we should be saving more but, rather, how we go about it. Enter Jeremy Cooper, drawing the ire of new IFSA chief executive, John Brogden, for perhaps jumping to conclusions before he has completed his inquiry into the industry – not due until the middle of next year. Truth in transition management
Well, I’ve done it. In researching this month’s cover story, I’ve spoken to every single transition manager currently offering their services in Australia. I’d like to be able to report, with apologies to Jeremy Cooper, that the super fund dog is wagging the transition management tail, but I’m afraid I can’t because after interviewing a … Read more
Truth in transition management
Well, I’ve done it. In researching this month’s cover story, I’ve spoken to every single transition manager currently offering their services in Australia. I’d like to be able to report, with apologies to Jeremy Cooper, that the super fund dog is wagging the transition management tail, but I’m afraid I can’t because after interviewing a … Read more
Truth in transition management
Well, I’ve done it. In researching this month’s cover story, I’ve spoken to every single transition manager currently offering their services in Australia. I’d like to be able to report, with apologies to Jeremy Cooper, that the super fund dog is wagging the transition management tail, but I’m afraid I can’t because after interviewing a dozen of these people, I’m so confused I don’t know if I’m looking at a canine or a cantaloupe.
Truth in transition management
Well, I’ve done it. In researching this month’s cover story, I’ve spoken to every single transition manager currently offering their services in Australia. I’d like to be able to report, with apologies to Jeremy Cooper, that the super fund dog is wagging the transition management tail, but I’m afraid I can’t because after interviewing a dozen of these people, I’m so confused I don’t know if I’m looking at a canine or a cantaloupe. New thinking needed on asset allocation
The global slowdown has exposed the vulnerabilities of traditional asset allocation, according to senior managing director of State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), Shawn Johnson, while sharing the AA implications he believed would be relevant depending on the ‘shape’ of the global economic recovery. “Correlations tend to ‘1’ during a crisis, so the theoretical minimum variance, maximum return portfolio construction doesn’t really help,” Johnson told an SSgA client conference in Sydney last month. Most institutional investors were not able to react quickly because “they are slaves to longterm asset allocation models and committee decisionmaking”, said Johnson, giving the example of one US fund which needed three committee meetings and 45 days to shift managers.
