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Articles by Garry Visontay
Rethink Startup Funding Post Covid 19 (Online Event)
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Hawkish US Fed considering four hikes
The US Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will hold its second monetary policy of the year over Tuesday and Wednesday, culminating in new chair Jerome Powell's first press conference at 2:30pm (US time) on Wednesday. Much interest will focus on Mr Powell's tone, which was distinctly hawkish when he spoke to Congress about the outlook for monetary policy recently, says Fidelity International's Ian Samson.
JP Morgan remains largest custodian: ACSA
The latest statistics from the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) show that total assets under custody for Australian investors grew by 4.9 per cent in the six months to 31 December 2017. Total assets under custody reached just over $3.49 trillion by the end of 2017, with JP Morgan holding the largest share at 22.3 per cent or $779 billion.
FASEA updates education pathway guidance
In a statement on its website, FASEA released new guidance which indicated all ‘relevant providers’ of financial advice will be required to complete at least one unit of study in order to keep practicing, where ‘relevant provider’ refers to anyone on the ASIC financial adviser register.
NAB corporate super GM jumps ship to AMP
According to a statement by AMP, Ms Bourguignon will move into the role of director of strategic marketing and customer experience, a position currently held by Mr Finch. He will be stepping into the role of director of superannuation, retirement and investments on 3 April, which will see him responsible for the financial institution’s superannuation and platform products, the statement said.
Our process is bigger than Kerr: Platinum
Speaking to financial advisers in Sydney on Wednesday, 21 March, Platinum chief investment officer Andrew Clifford expressed confidence in the asset manager's process despite Mr Neilson's handing over of the reins, reiterating Mr Neilson's continued involvement in the investment and portfolio management teams. “I think one of the important things to understand is how the investment team works.
Establishing blockchain standards ‘critical’
Speaking as part of a panel discussion at the annual ASIC forum on Tuesday, 20 March, trade reporting service provider DTCC Data Repository Singapore chief executive Oliver Williams said developing standards for blockchain was “critical” to ensure interoperability between systems. Using his own industry an example, he pointed out that the aggregation of information and data would be “very difficult” without the implementation of standards.
Open banking cannot ‘bombard’ clients
A panel of industry representatives at the ASIC Forum 2018 in Sydney this week discussed the characteristics of a strong open banking regime, arguing that the customer’s best interests must be kept in mind. Panellist and head of the government’s Review into Open Banking, King & Wood Mallesons partner Scott Farrell, said the nascent data industry should be working towards creating greater convenience for customers.
Cryptocurrency trade spiked in December: report
In a joint research project by Accenture and the Australian Digital Commerce Association (ADCA), 2017 saw $3.9 billion worth of cryptocurrency traded across seven Australian digital currency exchanges (altogether representing two-thirds of the virtual currency market). December 2017 alone made up 59 per cent of the total value of trading activity over the entire year, equating to nearly half (48 per cent) of the 2.7 million in total transactions, according to a statement by Accenture.
FSC Life Insurance Awards winners announced
The FSC Life Insurance Awards, announced in Sydney last night, were divided into three individual and three company-wide awards. AMP Life won the Innovation in Direct Life Insurance Category for its MyLife product, while AMP's Mental Health Training product took out the Innovation in Retail Life Insurance award. MLC Life's LifeView product was awarded the Innovation In Group Life Insurance award.
Don't get blindsided by volatility: SuperRatings
Super research house SuperRatings has laid out the impressive growth of the typical investment option since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009. The median balanced option has delivered an average return of 9 per cent per annum in the past nine years, representing accumulated growth of 117 per cent, said SuperRatings. The median growth option (with growth assets of 77-90 per cent) delivered even more impressive returns – 9.9 per cent per annum or an accumulated 134 per cent.
IOOF recruits Lonsec Research CEO
Matt Olsen will step into the new role at the end of April 2018 following two and a half years at Lonsec Research as its chief executive officer. Before that, he was the chief investment officer at industry fund Energy Industries Super, during which he led the investment team and oversaw portfolio performance and the investment process.
Tax cuts will 'overheat' US economy
Policymakers have "opened the fiscal taps" on the US economy with tax cuts and a bipartisan budget deal, says Aberdeen Global Investments senior global economist James McCann. The Republican tax plan, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and rushed through the US Congress by the end of 2017, will add just under US$1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years, said Mr McCann.
Munro global fund added to BT, CFS platforms
Melbourne-based global equities boutique Munro Partners has had its flagship fund added to the platforms of BT and Colonial First State. Munro chief investment officer Nick Griffin said there are still plenty of opportunities for global investors despite "recent market turmoil". "We continue to find attractive bottom-up investment opportunities for our portfolio," Mr Griffin said.
Prime Super launches online claims process
As part of Prime Super's new insurance capability, members will be able to track their initial application online as it progresses to the final payout. Prime Super chief executive Lachlan Baird said the fully online process would "reduce stress" for members who make insurance claims by reducing processing times. "We are delighted to be able to offer this service for our members.
ANZ suspends consumer asset finance
The announcement that ANZ will suspend providing secured asset finance loans comes after the Federal Court found the bank's former Esanda car finance business breached responsible lending laws. On 28 February 2018, the Federal Court ordered ANZ to pay a penalty of $5 million for breaches of the responsible lending provisions by Esanda.
Qantas Super signs tax deal with GBST
GBST and Qantas Super have signed an agreement that will see the corporate super fund adopt GBST's TaxIntell capability to calculate CGT. Under new superannuation legislation, complying super funds are granted from relief from the tax consequences for capital gains accumulated before 1 July 2017. From 1 July 2017, capital gains are taxable in cases where the total super balance for a member is greater than $1.6 million.
Don’t ‘set and forget’ hybrids, warns BetaShares
Speaking to InvestorDaily, BetaShares chief executive officer Alex Vynokur said financial advisers are under pressure to maintain large portfolios of bank hybrids for their clients. The high-yielding securities are in high demand among retail investors looking for sources of income, but concepts like capital triggers and non-viability clauses are poorly understood, Mr Vynokur said.
Platinum backing ‘creative destruction’: Neilson
In an article published on the ASX, Mr Neilson outlined a number of industries being driven by digitsation where one could find “emerging opportunities”. “Innovation and the rate of change are obviously important from an investment perspective,” Mr Neilson wrote.
A-REITs flying the active flag: S&P
The latest S&P Dow Jones Indices SPIVA report has found that, with the exception of A-REITs, a majority of Australian active managed funds categories underperformed their indices in 2017. The biannual report regularly finds that most fund managers fail to beat their benchmarks over one, three, five and 15-year periods. Over 2017, the majority of Australia's equity funds, mid and small-cap funds, international equity funds and bond funds underperformed their respective indices.
ASX200 whistleblower policies sub-standard: ACSI
The lobby group – which represents institutional investors on ESG issues – today published a report uncovering holes in the implementation of codes of conduct and whistleblower processes of ASX200 companies. ACSI’s Codes of Conduct, Whistleblowing and Corporate Culture report revealed that corporate culture had come under the spotlight following a string of “scandals” that had prompted conduct-related investigations in recent years.
‘We have not done the right thing’: NAB CEO
Ahead of NAB’s first appearance at the royal commission into banking and financial services which resumed on Tuesday, 13 March, NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn published an open letter addressed to “customers, employees, shareholders and the community”.
Microcap FUM increases 610%: Zenith
Total funds under management (FUM) in Zenith Investment Partners’ rated microcap universe grew from $115 million to $702 million in the three years prior to 31 December 2017. A statement from Zenith said findings from its latest sector review revealed the microcap fund universe “came within $200 million of its collective capacity in June 2016”, leading a number of microcap offerings to reach capacity and close off from new investment.
CFS FirstWrap adds AllianceBernstein fund
The AB Global Equities Fund, which is run by a Danish team out of Copenhagen, has been added to Colonial First State FirstWrap platform. The fund is already available on BT Wrap, Macquarie Wrap, HUB24 and Powerwrap. AB Australia chief executive Jen Driscoll said the fund's growing presence in the Australian market demonstrates that "investors still have an appetite for active core strategies in diversified equities portfolios". "It also supports our view that the debate about active vs.
Time to take some chips off the table: Principal
In a note to investors about the "ugly" month of February that saw a 10 per cent correction in US equities, Principal Global Investors said the recovery could be as long as two months away. Principal chief global economist Bob Baur said the "huge downdraft" in early February – a peak to trough plunge of 12.2 per cent on the S&P 500 Index over 10 trading days – was "dreadfully, wickedly fast and far".
Industry rejects Labor franking credits proposal
Yesterday, Mr Shorten announced that under a Labor government, individuals are no longer able to claim cash refunds on excess imputation credits that had not been applied to offset tax liabilities.
Fidelity hires Macquarie head of research
Stepping into his new role at Fidelity International, Mr Dinham will develop solutions to service Australian institutional and wholesale clients who are leading up to and in retirement. Prior to his appointment, he was at Macquarie Group as head of research, wealth management on a six-month contract.
Personal investments outweigh super: Rice Warner
According to Rice Warner’s Personal Investments Market Projections 2017 report, Australians held $2.575 trillion in personal investments last year – 250 billion more than Australia’s entire superannuation pool of $2.325 trillion. Last year saw a 12 per cent growth in personal investments, the report revealed, representing nearly double the average annual growth of 6.2 per cent across the last decade.
AMP rolls out separately managed portfolios
According to a statement, the non-bank lender has rolled out MyNorth Managed Portfolios, adding 12 new separately managed portfolios to its MyNorth, North, Summit and iAccess platforms. The new portfolios fit into accumulation, income and objective-based investment categories and are “designed to meet specified investment objectives”, according to the statement.
Soft skills: The vacuum that exists within many Australian startups - SmartCompany
From my participation on a number of startup boards and constant interaction with founders in our investment fund’s portfolio, I have observed that many founders are struggling with the soft skills required to effectively run and build their business. And this is not just my own observation. According to Noam Wasserman, author of The Founder’s Dilemma, 65% of startups that fail do so due to ineffective management from the founders, not product or marketing problems.
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