[Weekly Wrap] What makes a good fund manager?

2014 looks to be the year of the boutique fund manager.

Friday, February 14th 2014, 1:05PM

by Susan Edmunds

Earlier this week, we reported that the announcement of another boutique set to open could be a sign of the times.

Rebecca Thomas, of Mint Asset Management, said the flurry of boutique openings was being driven in part by the fact that some of the big fund managers were reaching capacity. Others said boutiques were sometimes created because people saw a need for a type of fund that wasn't being offered, or had reached a stage in their careers where they wanted a new challenge.

Whatever the reason, commentators said the advent of more boutiques would be good for consumers because it would improve competition for investor money.

It was interesting, then, to talk to ANZ's head of wealth later in the week about whether banks can be good fund managers. It's something many of the mainstream banks have jumped in and out of over the years, and ANZ is probably the exception at the moment with its hands-on approach to funds management.

It has picked up the FundSource fund manager of the year award for the past two years in a row and John Body said while boutiques would have the benefit of flexibility, a fund manager the size of a bank would have resources that smaller operators could only dream of.

But he said there was room in the market for more good operators.

In other news, the FMA complaint against David Ross was dismissed by the FADC this week, something the regulator had requested. A recent salary survey found that people who can keep financial institutions on the right side of compliance regulations would be sought after in 2014, and we asked whether there was any backing in New Zealand for the Australian suggestion to make financial advice tax deductible.

After ASB's record profit announcement, we talked to its chief executive, who told Good Returns that she expected to see more low-deposit lending happening as banks got to grips with the new rules. On the insurance front, it's expected that life insurers might follow the example of health insurers such as nib and Southern Cross, and start pushing harder for the younger sector of the market.

We've also reported a few key movements on our people news page this week.

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