News Round Up

Saturn Portfolio acquires Rodney Financial Services; Tower ends insurance products accord with ANZ National; BT number one; Latest Financial Reporting review released; Kauri Notes positive.

Sunday, August 10th 2008, 5:28AM

by Maddy Milicich

Over the weekend a new look site Good Returns site went live.
The new site is:
- Bigger and better than before with more information
- Also it is easier to navigate so you should be able to find more useful information
- The site has a cleaner and fresher look.

After you have had a look send us your comments to newsite@goodreturns.co.nz
More details of the changes can be found here http://www.goodreturns.co.nz/faq.html

Saturn buys Rodney Financial Services
Saturn Portfolio Management has announced the settlement of its acquisition of the portfolio assets of Rodney Financial Services.

Chairman Craig Stobo said this builds on Saturn's recent acquisition activity in the area of investment advice.

Rodney's director Pauline Smith said Saturn represented a business that shared her values and goals and therefore was well positioned to assist clients through both life and investment cycles following her decision to pursue other opportunities.

"Clients need financial advice to achieve their lifestyles, and they need trusted advisers. Saturn's business model is designed to meet these needs. I explored different options but only Saturn was able to demonstrate a complete commitment to meeting client needs."

Tower ends insurance products accord with ANZ National
Tower ended a 15-year agreement to provide insurance products to ANZ Bank and National Bank because of underwriting losses.

The relationship will end on March 1, 2009.

The decision doesn't affect Tower's own customers. The insurer and fund manager in May posted a 29% gain in first-half profit to NZ$20.2 million, excluding discontinued businesses.

Tower stock rose 1.9% to NZ$2.15 and has gained about 7% in the past month.

BT number one
BT Funds Management, the investment arm of Westpac, has been ranked number one fund manager by FundSource for its strong inflow of funds in both the June 08 quarter and the year ending June 08.

BT experienced significant net inflows of $157.53 million for the year.

The largest inflows of $101.61 million were into the unit trusts managed by BT, including the Westpac Cash Plus Trust, a low-risk, tax efficient PIE fund. The Westpac KiwiSaver scheme, which is managed and administered by BT, has attracted more than 90,000 members and sits fourth place overall for net funds flow.

Latest financial reporting review released
The Securities Commission has released Cycle 7 of its Financial Reporting Surveillance Programme.

The latest cycle reviewed financial statements of 44 issuers. Only 17 of those were written to by the commission and agreement was reached on most matters raised.

The main issues raised related to party disclosure, financial instruments and certain essential disclosures. The commission also raised matters relating to disclosures of substantial security holder information and directors' interests and share dealings.

"The programme encourages issuers to improve the quality of their financial reports and in that way contribute to the integrity of New Zealand's securities markets," commission chief accountant Alistair Boult says.

The commission says the general quality of financial reporting in New Zealand is good.

Kauri Notes positive
Both Kauri Income and Growth Units provided positive returns to investors over the quarter ended 30 June.

Kauri Income Units contributed 4.72%, while Kauri Growth Units, with their longer term growth focus, contributed 0.32%.

The NZX50 showed a -7.95% return for the same period.

The strength of Kauri Units is their capacity to perform in both up and down markets.

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