News Round Up

Securities Commission executive chairman Jane Diplock is "optimistic" that the Government will announce changes to disclosure laws for advisers "very soon".

Earlier this year the commission made a raft of recommendations to the Government which, if accepted, would tighten up disclosure rules.

Diplock says the recommendations are before Commerce Minister Paul Swain and she "wouldn't be surprised if we have (a decision) very soon."

She is "quite optimist" that the Government will adopt the recommendations. "They seem very happy," she says. "I think they will come up with the outcome that we all expect."

Tower teams up with Craigs
Tower Trust has done a deal with ABN Amro Craigs that will see it selling portfolios of shares to investors.

Investors using the Leaders service buy shares through a bare trustee structure which allows people to hold shares directly, yet with lower fees and tax than if they used a managed fund.

"Fees are generally lower and in some cases less than half of those charged by other forms of trust investments," Tower Trust general manager Glenn Clark says.

Tower Trust has engaged ABN Amro Craigs to provide research and broking services to the Leaders series.

New Zealand First Securities and J B Were offer similar services.

New Plymouth popular
St Laurence Group says it's been inundated with allocation requests for its new proportionate ownership scheme.

St Laurence started promoting these schemes late last year as an alternative to syndicated property. Money raised in the latest offer will be used to buy a building in New Plymouth.

Related story: St Laurence tries out new syndicate structure

Super sale continues
The $3.4 billion super fund that looks after government employees, police, armed forces personnel, parliamentarians and judges has sold nearly half its Government Bonds and put the money into shares and international fixed interest.

Government Superannuation Fund Authority Board chairman Basil Logan says the fund now holds 40% of its investments in New Zealand and international equities with a target of finally holding 65% in those asset classes. The remainder will be in international bonds (21%) and NZ bonds (14%).

BNZ Investment Management was recently appointed to manage international equities and State Street Global Advisors has been appointed as currency manager. Those managers join: AMP Henderson Global Investors, Alliance Capital Management, BT Funds Management, and Tower Asset Management as managers for the GSF.

Logan says four tenders totalling $600 million have been held already, with a further tender scheduled for June 6.

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