AMP Limited(AMP):
One of Australia's largest asset managers AMP Capital has overhauled its $28 billion Australian equities business that will see it no longer offer benchmark-aware, core Australian equities strategies. AMP Capital's global chief investment officer for equities, the unit will now be comprised of three teams covering equity income, small caps, and "systematic" which is a low-cost rules-based approach to investing that includes passive, enhanced index and smart beta strategies. AMP said the the investment processes for the equity income and small cap strategies are unchanged. However, the systematic team will also work directly with AMP Capital's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investment Research. This team will also provide "intelligent screening" to other teams. During the last 18 months, AMP Capital has established a global equities team and combined its listed real estate and listed infrastructure capabilities to form the global listed real assets team. Despite AMP's commitment to active management, the Australian $1.6 trillion funds management sector has been rocked by the move towards passive and index funds, particularly in retail focused funds. In 2016, there were 700 funds that couldn't match the close to 12 per cent return the benchmark S&P ASX 200 index generated. On average, they returned 9.2 per cent.
ANZ Banking Group (ANZ):
ANZ’s quest for an increased market share of home loans has seen its loan to-income ratio blow out to 6.3 times compared with an industry average of 4.9 times, according to a Morgan Stanley survey. The bank has unveiled a number of initiatives in recent months as it looks to grow its book, including sharper pricing of interest only loans, the purchase of an app that predicts sale prices and the launch of ANZ First Home Coach, an information portal that provides tailored advice for young home buyers. Higher loan-to-income ratios are a common feature of late stage property booms as house prices soar relative to wages. House price growth in the capital cities of Melbourne and Sydney remains resilient in the face of low wages growth of 2.1 per cent annually. Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Wiles says ANZ has the highest average loan-to-income ratio at 6.3 times followed by BOQ at 5 times, Westpac at 4.9 times, NAB at 4.7 times, CBA at 4.4 times and Bendigo Bank at 4 times.
ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), National Australia Bank (NAB), Westpac (WBC):
ANZ Banking Group, National Australia Bank and Westpac, which are at the centre of a rate-rigging lawsuit, have one week to present an acceptable agreement to the corporate watchdog to avoid a costly and damaging trial. The hitch is they will need to admit guilt. The three major banks at the center of a rate-rigging lawsuit have one week to present an acceptable agreement to the corporate watchdog and avoid a costly and damaging trial. ANZ Banking Group, National Australia Bank and Westpac are due to face the Federal Court in Melbourne on October 23, after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleged they had manipulated the bank bill swap rate (BBSW) rate and engaged in unconscionable conduct. It is one of the largest cases ever undertaken by the regulator. The BBSW is used as a reference rate to set billions of dollars of debt securities, derivatives and loans.
Boral Limited (BLD):
Boral is the best bet for ASX investors wanting to benefit from the $100 billion infrastructure boom and navigate through the slowing housing market, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. While the stockbroking house says, Boral offers the most upside because of its exposure to the massive infrastructure spend over the next decade, and expanding profit margins in its United States business, it warns that investors in James Hardie face a tough road. BAML building materials analyst Sophie Spartalis said in a report on the large ASX-listed building and construction stocks that Boral is the ‘‘top pick’’ and James Hardie, CSR and Fletcher Building should be bypassed. Ms Spartalis said the building materials sector is trading in line with historic multiples and catalysts for share price movements were more stock specific.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Commonwealth Bank’s financial targets may be revised down following the regulator’s inquiry, and it could also lose its status as Australia’s premium banking franchise. Analysis from Jonathan Mott of UBS says the fallout from the AUSTRAC allegations may not be limited to a monetary fine and may even lead to the bank lowering its internal return on equity targets. Mr Mott said despite a sharp share price fall – from $85.05 on July 27 to a low of $73.24 on September 8 – it was extremely challenging to make the case to buy Australia’s largest bank. ‘‘Buying CBA based on valuation is predicated on the view that there will be no lasting impact from the AML allegations and its earnings. We believe this may be optimistic’’ Mr Mott said in a note to clients.
Hutchison Telecommunications (HTA):
Vodafone Hutchison Australia will launch a new network designed to enable millions of devices to connect to the Internet of Things. After completing its first in-field trial in the first half of 2016, Vodafone is launching its narrowband Internet of Things (NBIoT) technology commercially across Melbourne in November. Selected areas of Sydney and Melbourne will be added to the network in December and the services for rest of the country will be rolled out next year. The technology is designed to connect with devices and applications that do not require frequent transmission of data back to a central office, such as water and power meters, smart bins, cars and alarms. In some cases batteries in connected devices can run for more than 10 years on a single charge. Narrowband IoT is designed to be low-cost, have extended battery life and reach into remote areas.
Myer Holdings (MYR):
Former Spotless chairman Garry Hounsell will become chairman of Myer at the annual meeting on November 24 after longserving chairman Paul McClintock decided not to seek re-election.The decision, announced on Wednesday, could take some of the heat out of retailer Solomon Lew's bitter campaign against the Myer board. Mr McClintock was originally considering standing for re-election but planned to hand over the reins to Mr Hounsell months later, mirroring his own four-month transition from chairman-elect to chairman in 2012. However, given Mr Hounsell's board experience, the short handover period and the campaign launched by Mr Lew, Myer and Mr McClintock had been discussing whether the veteran company director should retire at the AGM.Mr McClintock told The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday his decision to retire had not been influenced by Mr Lew's recent attacks on the Myer board.
TPG Telecom (TPM):
Four lenders have helped to fund TPG Capital’s acquisition of Australia’s biggest clinical trials business, Novotech. As first reported by Street Talk, Barings, HSBC, Nomura and Partners Group tipped into the unitranche debt structure which bankrolled the private equity giant’s bid. Sources said the rate on the $135 million loan was 5.5 per cent above the benchmark bank rate, currently 1.6 per cent. HSBC is providing the working capital facility. Unitranche debt facilities are common in Europe and the United States and increasingly popular with private equity firms in Australia and New Zealand.
(Source: AIMS)
One of Australia's largest asset managers AMP Capital has overhauled its $28 billion Australian equities business that will see it no longer offer benchmark-aware, core Australian equities strategies. AMP Capital's global chief investment officer for equities, the unit will now be comprised of three teams covering equity income, small caps, and "systematic" which is a low-cost rules-based approach to investing that includes passive, enhanced index and smart beta strategies. AMP said the the investment processes for the equity income and small cap strategies are unchanged. However, the systematic team will also work directly with AMP Capital's Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investment Research. This team will also provide "intelligent screening" to other teams. During the last 18 months, AMP Capital has established a global equities team and combined its listed real estate and listed infrastructure capabilities to form the global listed real assets team. Despite AMP's commitment to active management, the Australian $1.6 trillion funds management sector has been rocked by the move towards passive and index funds, particularly in retail focused funds. In 2016, there were 700 funds that couldn't match the close to 12 per cent return the benchmark S&P ASX 200 index generated. On average, they returned 9.2 per cent.
ANZ Banking Group (ANZ):
ANZ’s quest for an increased market share of home loans has seen its loan to-income ratio blow out to 6.3 times compared with an industry average of 4.9 times, according to a Morgan Stanley survey. The bank has unveiled a number of initiatives in recent months as it looks to grow its book, including sharper pricing of interest only loans, the purchase of an app that predicts sale prices and the launch of ANZ First Home Coach, an information portal that provides tailored advice for young home buyers. Higher loan-to-income ratios are a common feature of late stage property booms as house prices soar relative to wages. House price growth in the capital cities of Melbourne and Sydney remains resilient in the face of low wages growth of 2.1 per cent annually. Morgan Stanley analyst Richard Wiles says ANZ has the highest average loan-to-income ratio at 6.3 times followed by BOQ at 5 times, Westpac at 4.9 times, NAB at 4.7 times, CBA at 4.4 times and Bendigo Bank at 4 times.
ANZ Banking Group (ANZ), National Australia Bank (NAB), Westpac (WBC):
ANZ Banking Group, National Australia Bank and Westpac, which are at the centre of a rate-rigging lawsuit, have one week to present an acceptable agreement to the corporate watchdog to avoid a costly and damaging trial. The hitch is they will need to admit guilt. The three major banks at the center of a rate-rigging lawsuit have one week to present an acceptable agreement to the corporate watchdog and avoid a costly and damaging trial. ANZ Banking Group, National Australia Bank and Westpac are due to face the Federal Court in Melbourne on October 23, after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleged they had manipulated the bank bill swap rate (BBSW) rate and engaged in unconscionable conduct. It is one of the largest cases ever undertaken by the regulator. The BBSW is used as a reference rate to set billions of dollars of debt securities, derivatives and loans.
Boral Limited (BLD):
Boral is the best bet for ASX investors wanting to benefit from the $100 billion infrastructure boom and navigate through the slowing housing market, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. While the stockbroking house says, Boral offers the most upside because of its exposure to the massive infrastructure spend over the next decade, and expanding profit margins in its United States business, it warns that investors in James Hardie face a tough road. BAML building materials analyst Sophie Spartalis said in a report on the large ASX-listed building and construction stocks that Boral is the ‘‘top pick’’ and James Hardie, CSR and Fletcher Building should be bypassed. Ms Spartalis said the building materials sector is trading in line with historic multiples and catalysts for share price movements were more stock specific.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Commonwealth Bank’s financial targets may be revised down following the regulator’s inquiry, and it could also lose its status as Australia’s premium banking franchise. Analysis from Jonathan Mott of UBS says the fallout from the AUSTRAC allegations may not be limited to a monetary fine and may even lead to the bank lowering its internal return on equity targets. Mr Mott said despite a sharp share price fall – from $85.05 on July 27 to a low of $73.24 on September 8 – it was extremely challenging to make the case to buy Australia’s largest bank. ‘‘Buying CBA based on valuation is predicated on the view that there will be no lasting impact from the AML allegations and its earnings. We believe this may be optimistic’’ Mr Mott said in a note to clients.
Hutchison Telecommunications (HTA):
Vodafone Hutchison Australia will launch a new network designed to enable millions of devices to connect to the Internet of Things. After completing its first in-field trial in the first half of 2016, Vodafone is launching its narrowband Internet of Things (NBIoT) technology commercially across Melbourne in November. Selected areas of Sydney and Melbourne will be added to the network in December and the services for rest of the country will be rolled out next year. The technology is designed to connect with devices and applications that do not require frequent transmission of data back to a central office, such as water and power meters, smart bins, cars and alarms. In some cases batteries in connected devices can run for more than 10 years on a single charge. Narrowband IoT is designed to be low-cost, have extended battery life and reach into remote areas.
Myer Holdings (MYR):
Former Spotless chairman Garry Hounsell will become chairman of Myer at the annual meeting on November 24 after longserving chairman Paul McClintock decided not to seek re-election.The decision, announced on Wednesday, could take some of the heat out of retailer Solomon Lew's bitter campaign against the Myer board. Mr McClintock was originally considering standing for re-election but planned to hand over the reins to Mr Hounsell months later, mirroring his own four-month transition from chairman-elect to chairman in 2012. However, given Mr Hounsell's board experience, the short handover period and the campaign launched by Mr Lew, Myer and Mr McClintock had been discussing whether the veteran company director should retire at the AGM.Mr McClintock told The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday his decision to retire had not been influenced by Mr Lew's recent attacks on the Myer board.
TPG Telecom (TPM):
Four lenders have helped to fund TPG Capital’s acquisition of Australia’s biggest clinical trials business, Novotech. As first reported by Street Talk, Barings, HSBC, Nomura and Partners Group tipped into the unitranche debt structure which bankrolled the private equity giant’s bid. Sources said the rate on the $135 million loan was 5.5 per cent above the benchmark bank rate, currently 1.6 per cent. HSBC is providing the working capital facility. Unitranche debt facilities are common in Europe and the United States and increasingly popular with private equity firms in Australia and New Zealand.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments