In this month's issue

August 2010

Cover Story

What makes a great investor?

Look beyond the numbers. Investing is about people: the ability to gather good information, analyse assets and create investment strategies all depends on people. And some people are better than others. Very few, however, are so wildly talented that their stories define success in the industry. “My list of iconic investors reaches 10,” says Hugh Dougherty, head of manager research with Towers Watson in Australia. “They have some kind of Midas touch. They’re out there. They’re freaks.”

Manufacturing

This magazine doesn’t normally find itself defining things, the assumption being that we have a sophisticated audience which has at least a passing familiarity with most investment concepts. However, exchangetraded funds (ETFs) seem to be so far off the radar of the average chief investment officer, a little explanation can’t hurt (with a nod to Russell consultants Nick Curtin and Raewyn Williams, whose April 2010 paper ‘ETFs: An Australian perspective on a global phenomenon’ is a comprehensive review of the ETF ecosystem).

Administration

Superpartners moves rapidly to advise
The GFC had an unexpected side-effect for Superpartners: members’ demands for general and personal advice forced the administrator to consider new software to deliver better advice more quickly. Provisio Technology’s software was put in place at first to address transition-to-retirement enquiries, says Marianne Walker, National Contact Centre Manager for Superpartners.

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