Weekly briefs

Packer buys into Challenger, Super on the agenda, Tortis Ozzy hares to $100 mill, MDRT president to visit, FPIAA birth, Guardian Trust's new livery, Queens Wharf sold.

Sunday, February 14th 1999, 12:00AM

Kerry Packer's Consolidated Press Holdings Group has invested about A$40 million in the Australian-based Challenger Group.
Challenger offers its Endowment Warrants in New Zealand. (For more information on warrants see the Special Report and Markets pages) and is a major player in the annuities market in Australia.
The new funds will be deployed as new capital in the wholly-owned subsidiary Challenger Life Ltd. This together with other funds available will lift the capital of the life company to more than A$100 million," Challenger chief executive Bill Ireland says.

This "means it is now a very significant participant in the industry in the eyes of investors in its products and financial planners/adviser."
Consolidated's investments also "greatly strengthens the competitive position of Challenger Life," he says.

Super on the agenda
The Investment Savings and Insurance Association is planning to make sure all political parties are focused on superannuation issues this year.
The association has met with National, Labour and ACT to discuss issues and it is planning to talk with the Alliance and New Zealand First.
Acting chief executive Vance Arkinstall says, so far, he is pleased with the responses from the political parties.
Meanwhile, Treasurer Bill Birch says the National party plans to make working with the investment community "a strategic priority" this year.

Tortis hares it to $100 million mark
Tower's Tortis Ozzy Fund cracked the has reached the $100 million milestone, last week, almost two years to the day from its listing on the Stock Exchange.
The Tortis fund models the Australian 20 Leaders index. It raised $46.6 million when it listed and it has increased to more than $100 million by both market returns and by sharebrokers regularly delivering additional baskets of shares to the fund.
Tower Managed Funds managing director Jim Minto says one of the reasons for the fund's growth is that people have been looking for tax effective investment options and ones which have low fees.
"We believe the fund size will steadily increase over time as it provides an attractive way of accessing leading stocks in that marketplace."
In the year ending December 31, the fund yielded a return of 21.10 per cent.

MDRT president to visit
Reggie Rabjohns, the president of the Million Dollar Round Table will be in New Zealand later this year and will address advisers and planners in several of the major centres.
The dates for these presentations are in the diary

FPIAA starts this week
The Association of Investment Advisers and Financial Planners and the Insurance and Investment Advisers Association are due to create their new association this week.
The two associations will sign the founding document for the Financial Planners and Investment Advisers Association (FPIAA) on Thursday.

Guardian Trust changes

Tyndall subsidiary New Zealand Guardian Trust has changed its logo.

Queens Wharf sold
AMP Asset Management has sold the troubled Queens Wharf retail centre, which it acquired when it took over Southpac Investment Management, just over a year ago.
The property has been sold to a group of private investors, represented by merchant bankers Willis Bond & Co, for an undisclosed sum.

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