[Weekly wrap] OnePath to victory

ANZ was in the news twice this week; while its subsidiary OnePath won fund manager of the year, ANZ's mortgage book continued to shrink.

Friday, March 2nd 2012, 10:22AM

by Niko Kloeten

OnePath won top prize at last night's Morningstar Fund Manager of the Year Awards, while also taking home the KiwiSaver category, an important win for the manager given the rapidly growing size and influence of the government-sponsored superannuation scheme.

The inclusion of boutique managers, Elevation Capital and Brook Walter Scott illustrates their growing presence in the market. Congrats to Brook Walter Scott which took out the international equities category.

ANZ managing director, wealth John Body said KiwiSaver had given OnePath a clearer customer focus. One thing customers need help with is getting into the right fund; new Reserve Bank figures show 60% of KiwiSaver money is invested in fixed interest.

NZ Funds Management chief executive Richard James said the issue affects not just the investors themselves but the rest of the New Zealand economy, and is a huge challenge for advisers and the government.

But if KiwiSaver investors do get that advice, will they listen? Many people think they don't need advice because they wrongly think they're intelligent enough to do without it, according to an expert on financial adviser marketing.

From deluded investors to mystery shoppers; the FMA has confirmed it is planning to mystery shop financial advisers. The IFA said mystery shopping could be a useful exercise as long as it was done well and avoided the mistakes of the Consumer NZ survey in 2009.

It's been a big week in the banking sector with a number of big banks releasing their financial figures for the December quarter. The figures show that while money is pouring into KiwiSaver, the tap has been turned off in the home lending market.

ANZ's mortgage book shrank for a third successive quarter while ASB's mortgage book shrinkage extended to seven quarters in a row. However, both banks increased their profits, as did Westpac which recorded a slight increase in mortgage lending.

Smaller players SBS, TSB and the Co-operative Bank had mixed results in the quarter.

In finance company news Allied Farmers has written its Hanover loan book down even further, while Geneva Finance has secured a new investor.

In the insurance sector this week, former Kiwibank boss Sam Knowles has joined Partners Life.

And finally, a message to insurance advisers - it doesn't matter what letters you have after your name; what matters is how you explain to customers what you do.

In our Investment Centre we have the latest commentary from Harbour Asset Management and if you are looking for a job (or staff) check out Jobline.

Niko Kloeten can be contacted at niko@goodreturns.co.nz

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