The cash conundrum facing retirees is well-known and broadly appreciated, yet little is being done to address it. With global governments forced to flood the economy with cheap cash to avoid a depression, the result has been the transfer of wealth from savers, who receive a pittance on their low-risk investors, and borrowers, who are…
Infrastructure assets, which range from utilities such as electricity generation, to assets that facilitate the movement of the population, such as airports and toll roads, faced a near “perfect storm” in 2020. Historically billed as a less volatile alternative than direct equities, few infrastructure investors, or anyone for that matter, saw the pandemic and associated…
Stewart Investors is among the world’s leading ESG or responsible investment firms, yet a series of name and ownership changes have somewhat hidden this specialist investment firm. Originally part of the Colonial First State Global Asset Management (CFSGAM) stable, Stewart is now owned by First Sentier Investors, which itself is a subsidiary of Japanese investment…
US$429 billion* multi-asset manager Neuberger Berman is ramping up pressure on both sides of capital markets with its NB Votes campaign. The group, which was founded eight decades ago, is adopting a more transparent and potentially powerful approach to ‘engagement’ with the companies in which they invest client’s money. In a recent paper prepared by…
Australia’s longest standing responsible investment firm, Australian Ethical, recently combined with research house, Investment Trends, to survey investors on their ESG views. The survey covered 2,854 investors and 321 financial advisers, all of whom are based in Australia. Despite the growing popularity of ESG strategies and headlines being dominated by “green-focused” policies in the US…
Retail Employee Superannuation Trust (Rest), one of Australia’s largest super funds, with over $60 billion in assets and more than two million members, has appointed Parametric and Calvert Research and Management (Calvert), to manage the equities allocation across the newly launched Rest Sustainable Growth Option. The Rest Sustainable Growth Option is a diversified portfolio with enhanced…
There is a common perception in capital markets that real estate prices are most heavily influenced by interest rate movements. Proponents suggest that an increasing cost of capital and loans will ultimately result in different types of property losing its value. Not so, says Resolution Capital’s CIO, Andrew Parsons. In fact, he suggests that investors…
Specialist equity manager Perennial Value Management last week announced the launch of a dedicated investment unit or ’boutique’ within their growing stable of high performing strategies. The group launched Perennial Better Future, a new business that will focus solely on developing and managing the group’s ESG strategies. The group, which managed the Better Future Trust,…
This week, The Inside Network held its inaugural Credit Masterclass event, a deep dive into the intricacies and characteristics of the fast-growing domestic and global credit market. During the day-long session, leading advisers and asset consultants covered every aspect of the credit and less traditional fixed-income sector in detail, ranging from its role and diversification…
After a quick scare in February, which delivered the worst month on record for Australian bond markets and a rare loss for the ‘low-risk’ asset class, markets have quickly normalised. Bond yields continue to retreat despite growing evidence that the global economic recovery is stepping up another gear. Despite this feeling of normality, and perhaps…
