The Fear of being a Loaner – keeping the sharks out of your fund’s lending pool

Until recently, securities lending had all the hallmarks of a ‘free lunch’. It was modest, but easy money for superannuation funds. Securities were usually lent through a principal program, in which the custodian took on the counter-party and collateral risk, and provided that custodian was reputable, very little could go wrong. The custodian on-lent the … Read more

Industry funds risk losing competitive advantage – Lally tells FEAL

Many industry funds are losing their competitive advantage – their fees are going up while commercial fund fees are coming down because of increasing scale and technology. “If we’re not careful, they’ll pass us in the middle,” according to Tony Lally, the chief executive of Sunsuper. “Our competitive advantage is going and for many it’s … Read more

Regrets… Australian funds may have a few

Super funds need to “take a step back” in the current environment, however, there are a lot of opportunities for skilled managers, according to participants in a recent Watson Wyatt roundtable. Five Watson Wyatt investment consultants from the UK, US and Australia, participated in the discussion, which aimed to provide guidance to large funds in … Read more

Ascalon/Private Collection deal chases promotion power

Former colleagues at MLC/Lend Lease, Nick Basile, Krystyna Weston and Sarah Brennan, have been reunited following Ascalon Capital Managers possession of a controlling stake in The Private Collection. The deal means Ascalon’s boutique funds managers will now be promoted in the retail space. Ascalon, which is part owned by St George Bank and Kaplan Equity, … Read more