BlackRock joins Smartshares set, new online brokers queued, plus $40 billion platform pipeline for NZX
The NZX-owned Smartshares has teamed up with the world’s largest asset manager to launch a new batch of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) next month. It is understood the suite of BlackRock i-Shares ETFs includes a few environmental, social and governance (ESG) flavoured offshore equity funds, a passive global bond product and ‘thematic’ funds covering innovative technology...
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Free UK pension transfers, RFA-friendly KiwiSaver and TD offers energise NZ Funds
NZ Funds Management has embarked on an ambitious growth drive targeting the UK pension transfer, adviser-distributed KiwiSaver, term deposit and trust markets with re-engineered and re-priced products. Michael Lang, who jumped from NZ Funds CIO to CEO last year, said the Auckland-based firm had hit the ground running in 2019 with a “zero transfer fee”...
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Milestone merger heralds new advice era as FSLAB slips through (with FAP SOP intact)
The just-passed Financial Services Legislation Amendment Bill (FSLAB) will mark time for the one-man band advice business in NZ, according to Richard Holden, director of newly-expanded advisory group, Milestone Financial. “It will be very difficult operating [under FSLAB] as a one-man band,” Holden said. “I couldn’t imagine doing it.” After missing its original March deadline,...
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NZ retail funds sink $3.3bn during final quarter of 2018
New data from Australian research firm, Strategic Insight (SI), reveals the true horror of the December quarter for retail funds with total assets under management slipping by $3.3 billion. According to the SI figures, NZ retail funds under management (FUM) sank to under $97.3 billion by the end of 2018, dipping below the $100 billion...
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AMP Capital plots down-to-earth future for NZ shares
Sky-high valuations are setting NZ equity markets for a rapid return to earth, according to AMP Capital NZ. The manager’s latest NZ ‘Insights’ publication notes the 2019 bounce-back from December quarter woes has seen local shares defy investment gravity with an average forward price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 27.3 times – well above the 10-year norm...
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Money speaks up: what $30 trillion says about responsibility
The NZ Superannuation Fund (NZS) inspired bid to rally global money against social media platforms reflects the growing power of investor engagement practices, according to the head of Responsible Investment Association of Australasia (RIAA). Simon O’Connor, RIAA chief, said the NZS-led group aimed at pressuring Facebook et al to better-restrict the flow of objectionable content...
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Northern Trust wins Maple-Brown Abbott contract
Maple-Brown Abbott has rationalised its securities servicing arrangements, which previously included two custodians – RBC Investor Services and NAB Asset Servicing – by replacing them both with a new provider. Maple-Brown, which manages about A$10 billion, is understood to have appointed Northern Trust as its sole securities services provider. It should be pointed out, however,...
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Science plus art: why investing isn’t paint by numbers
Successful investing demands a subtle blend of science and art, according to Russell Investments NZ institutional director, Noah Schiltknecht. Investors who neglect either element, or lay them on too thick, could end up facing an ugly shock, Schiltknecht told the Russell Investments NZ annual conference last month. “Both art and science have a positive effect...
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The big trends in data reshaping financial industry
For years the domain of sophisticated hedge funds, so-called ‘alternative data’ is gaining popularity among traditional fund managers and asset owners. Coupled with other advances, alternative data can give institutional investors an edge in both alpha generation and risk management. According to FactSet, a global data and technology provider, it is becoming almost impossible for...
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