News round-up

ING business book loss; Pure Protection fund launched; New software for Tower

Monday, June 22nd 2009, 5:56AM

ING business book loss
After a nearly 30% drop in funds management revenue, ING New Zealand made a $12.44 million loss in 2008, down from $8.85 million in profit a year earlier.

Funds management revenue dropped from $53.4 million to $37.6 million in 2007.

ING was cautiously optimistic that markets and profits would bounce back. KiwiSaver inflows were also helping boost its revenue, ING chief Helen Troup said.

Pure Protection fund launched
Pure Capital has launched the Pure Protection Fund, which aims to provide protection to wholesale investment portfolios during equity bear markets, whilst maintaining or improving returns in bull markets.

The fund will start trading on July 1 and will use only liquid, listed derivatives on recognised exchanges, primarily equity index and commodity products.

New software for Tower
Tower has finished building new software for its Health and Life advisers, named OPTIMUS.

The independent adviser software suite was developed by a core IT team of seven and came in on time and within budget.

The team used the agile development process, which saw the team start with the high level objectives and then assess them from there. The plan enabled the team to deliver something tangible to the business every two weeks for review.

OPTIMUS has already received positive feedback from many in the industry.

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