K: Financial and Insurance Services

Will the RBA join the global rates party?

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Original article by Timothy Moore
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 3-Jul-17

Futures pricing suggest that the Australian sharemarket will be bolstered by a positive lead from Wall Street when trading resumes on 3 July. The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy meeting will be a key focus for investors in coming days, although the cash rate is expected to be left on hold in July. Meanwhile, Australian retail sales, building approvals and trade data will be released during the next week.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, UNITED STATIONERS, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, NIKE INCORPORATED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED

Calling a truce in the fund war

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 3-Jul-17

The issue of active versus passive fund managers attracts considerable debate in Australia. However, BetaShares MD Alex Vynokur argues that the focus for fund managers should be on acting in the best interests of clients rather than the merits of each investment strategy. He notes that many active funds charge high fees while failing to deliver strong returns. BetaShares’ exchange-traded funds feature low fees and have a proven track record for good returns.

CORPORATES
BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, BETASHARES FTSE RAFI AUSTRALIA 200 ETF – ASX QOZ, S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLP

Barnaba quits Macquarie for RBA board

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Original article by Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 30-Jun-17

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has announced that Mark Barnaba will replace John Akehurst as Western Australia’s representative on the board of the Reserve Bank. Barnaba will step down as the head of global resources at Macquarie Capital to take up the central bank role. Macquarie Group CEO Nicholas Moore has praised Barnaba’s contribution to the investment bank. He is also chairman of Macquarie’s WA division.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, BLACK SWAN THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WEST COAST EAGLES FOOTBALL CLUB

Domestic woes to weigh on stocks

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Original article by Myriam Robin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 30-Jun-17

Australia’s S&P/ ASX200 index has gained 10.8 per cent in 2016-17, with resources stocks generally performing well while defensive stocks have disappointed. JP Morgan Asset Management’s Kerry Craig notes that some stocks have failed to match their first-half performance in the second half of the financial year. He adds that sector-specific issues and the Australian economy are likely to weigh on the sharemarket in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, JP MORGAN ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BELLAMY’S AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX BAL, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Super funds to return bumper 10.5pc

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Original article by Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 30-Jun-17

Chant West expects Australian superannuation funds to achieve an average return of 10.5 per cent for the 2016-17 financial year. Chant West director Warren Chant notes that major super funds have performed well for eight years, despite sustained economic and political uncertainty. Meanwhile, returns from industry super funds are forecast to exceed those of retail funds by about 0.7 per cent in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

ANZ to take lead in state levy fight

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 29-Jun-17

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott says the South Australian Government’s bank levy is "unfair", as it will apply to bank customers in other states. He warns that the will adversely affect the state’s economy, when the government should be pursuing policies that encourage investment in SA. Elliott held talks with Premier Jay Weatherill and Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis on 28 June. Elliott also says the Federal Government’s bank levy is "wrong".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

CBA joins peers in raising rates

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 26 : 28-Jun-17

The Commonwealth Bank will increase the interest rates on its owner-occupier and interest-only mortgage loans by 30 basis points. This follows a similar move by its major rivals, while interest rates on principal-and-interest loans for owner-occupiers will be reduced by three basis points. Commonwealth Bank hopes the rate adjustments will prompt more customers to switch from interest-only loans to principal-and-interest loans.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Super funds slow to shake off ‘home bias’

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 28-Jun-17

A report by Vanguard shows that Australian superannuation funds continue to favour local shares over international equities. This is particularly so in the case of self-managed super funds. Australia’s dividend imputation tax system is a major contributor to this "home bias". However, Vanguard notes that the domestic sharemarket is much more heavily weighted toward banks and mining stocks, and investors can reduce portfolio volatility by increasing their exposure to international equities.

CORPORATES
VANGUARD INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PROVIDENCE FUNDS MANAGEMENT, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BLACKROCK INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

Tech boom still has long way to run, says disruption fund

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 27-Jun-17

Evans & Partners’ executive chairman David Evans says digital disruption will affect sectors such as banking, insurance, health and retailing. Evans & Partners aims to capitalise on this with the launch of a global disruption fund, which will invest in US technology stocks such as Apple and Netflix, as well as Chinese technology stocks. The new fund will have an annual fee of 128 basis points and aims to initially raise $A100m from investors.

CORPORATES
EVANS AND PARTNERS PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INCORPORATED, ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LIMITED, BAIDU.COM INCORPORATED, TENCENT HOLDINGS LIMITED, NETEASE.COM INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, MICROSOFT CORPORATION, ZILLOW.COM, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL INCORPORATED, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MAGELLAN ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES

Super bodies want wider ban on commissions

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-Jun-17

The Department of the Treasury is conducting a review of Australia’s Future of Financial Advice regime. The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees and Industry Super Australia have used a joint submission to call for the ban on up-front and trailing commissions for life insurance sold within superannuation to be extended to all life insurance sales. They contend that commission-based remuneration structures serve to put the interests of financial planners ahead of their clients.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION