Launches

The former Wells Fargo Asset Management, a 52-year-old pioneering US fund manager, has targeted Australia and New Zealand in its new incarnation as an independent global firm. Allspring Global Investments’ regional expansion is being led by new regional chief executive, Andy Sowerby. If history is a guide, the rollout of institutional funds management capabilities will…

The Principals’ Community, steered by Kon Costas, has received strong support from the independent advisory community after parting ways with BT Financial Group. The sole purpose of the group is to provide support and guidance to AFSL holders that bar any institutional ownership complications. Costas is delighted with the support, saying: “The feedback and support…

Leading events company, The Inside Network is helping kick start the return to the CBD with the launch of their 2022 events program, starting with a full house Alternatives Symposium event, held at the city’s newest hotel, The W Melbourne during the week. After nearly 2 years of workers being told to work from home,…

China has quietly done what many considered unthinkable, by launching its own digital yuan this week, created to reduce its reliance on cash. Real-world trials have already begun in the cities of Shenzhen, Chengdu and Suzhou. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has been hard at work developing the Digital Currency Electronic Payment (DCEP) since…

Australia’s leading sustainable equity manager, Australian Ethical Investment (ASX: AEF), will list its high-conviction fund as an exchange-traded (ETF) version, later this week. The move comes following a spate of active ETF conversions, such as the Hyperion Global Growth Companies Fund (ASX: HYGG) which was converted to an ETF. It now offers investors the opportunity…

Well-known for its market leading, retiree-focused, franking-credit-driven Australian equity income funds, asset manager Plato Investment Management has gone green. Powered by the same detailed quantitative analysis that has driven tits portfolios since inception, the group this week announced the launch of the Plato Global Net Zero Hedge Fund. The fund will be “managed with a…

Morningstar has released its “top-performing global equity fund managers in 2021” report. This year, the funds that performed the best contained a well-disciplined approach to investing, together with an experienced team capable of producing high-performance numbers. The research report found that the top three global fund managers also had outstanding longer-term performance numbers. What this…

Kon Costas this week announced the launch of The Principals’ Community, a new business set up to service industry leading self-licensed financial advisers. The business will continue to deliver practice management, networking and business supports following its exit from BT Financial Group. According to a media release, the community has evolved from what was formerly…

As the old adage goes, “If you can’t beat em, join em.” Well, that’s exactly what Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) has done after it announced the offering of cryptocurrency services to its customers. CBA has attempted debanking exchanges, freezing bank accounts and blocking its customers from depositing money with cryptocurrency exchanges. It even went as…

Australia’s longest-standing responsible investment manager, Australian Ethical, has launched a new High-Conviction fund to complement its suite of existing actively managed funds. Support for AE’s Australian shares and emerging companies strategies has grown sixfold in just five years, as Australians have become more ethically minded than ever before. From being just a point of conversation,…

TRINAAA: ‘There really is no alternative at all’. What began as TINA, or “there is no alternative,” has expanded into TRINAAA. The term was coined to describe the unique situation in which investors from all around the world find themselves, as bond yields and fixed-income returns moved to zero, forcing risk-taking upon even the most…

The Ellerston Global Mid-Small-cap fund (Class A) has received a “commended” rating by research house Evergreen Ratings. This rating means Evergreen has confidence in the investment product, which has scored consistently well across most areas of Evergreen Ratings’ research and analysis framework. The fund has a high probability of meeting its objectives and is reasonably…