Fund Manager News

Stephen Johnston – Portfolio Manager – August 20, 2019 Throughout my investment career, it never ceases to amaze me how businesses can come from nowhere and, virtually overnight (slightly exaggerating), be multi-billion dollar businesses. The latest craze is plant-based meat. Think of it as a vegetarian substitute for bog standard meat products, for example, meat…

Greta, Hugo and the power of "you" - Morphic Asset Management It was said by Victor Hugo “Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come”. And in this vein, it is remarkable to think it was just over one year ago on the 20th of August 2018 that 15-year-old Greta Thunberg began protesting alone outside…

Andrew Bascand - Sep 24, 2019 The longer-term narrative remains intact: urbanisation and the rise of the middle-class consumer Consumption habits continue to move online but are fractionalising, moving at a fast pace to social network platforms Longer-term growth risks remain around demographics and high public debt Technology and infrastructure spending continue to frame growth opportunities…

Hamish Pepper - Sep 26, 2019 The Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 1.0% at its OCR Review this week, surprising the market with a rather sanguine tone, given the deteriorating global backdrop. The RBNZ noted that both fiscal and monetary policy have scope to provide additional stimulus. As…

25th Sep 2019 - Rebekah Swan - ESG Investment Specialist, NZ / Client Advocate / Head of Product This week I was at the launch of the report Impact Investor Insights Aotearoa New Zealand 2019 – a study on the state of impact investing in New Zealand. This inaugural study was conducted by the Responsible Investment Association…

How client demand and global financial practices are evolving in sustainable investing - AMP Capital The question of funding to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is prompting many to ask: what behaviours and strategies are being used globally to contribute to the big picture? Dubbed the “world’s best plan”, the SDGs…

4th Sep 2019 - Kristen Le Mesurier - Portfolio Manager - Multi Asset Group Sydney, Australia Blockchain – or distributed ledger technology (DLT) – is beginning to be employed by businesses to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) obligations. Its potential applications in the ESG space include tracking provenance in supply chains, and improving transparency and data…

Modern slavery rears it's ugly head again - AMP Capital Once again we are reminded that the clothes we wear carry with them a risk of us unwittingly supporting modern slavery. A recent current affairs programme in Australia exposed a mass internment camp in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where it is alleged that Uyghurs,…

25th Sep 2019 - Emily Woodland Co-Head of Sustainable InvestmentHong Kong, China Milton Friedman and Adam Smith are lions of economic theory. Their influence on organisational responsibility to shareholders, the division of labour and the meaning of fiduciary duty is powerful – but is it out of date? The financial sector has slowly begun to transform its…

Recession risks are rising as trade tensions depress global manufacturing and the inverted U.S. Treasury yield curve signals warning. While we’re cautious for now, a combination of central bank easing, a trade-war truce and China stimulus could brighten the outlook. Key highlights Cautious in the near term. China's economy continues to slow. Japanese equities look…

4 sustainability trends from the latest company reporting season - Harbour Asset Management Key points: Sustainability disclosure has improved Key focuses include climate change, diversity and waste Real world impact alignment on the rise The August company reporting season featured many of New Zealand’s largest listed companies disclosing their sustainability initiatives over the year. We…

Will Trump go nuclear on trade and weaponise the dollar? - Legg Mason President Trump has waged war on the Federal Reserve (Fed) for over a year. Salvos of tweet-bombs laced with criticism and ridicule have been launched at the central bank. Trump's main point has been that the Fed is too hawkish and the…