Utilising technology to provide simple, easy-to-use, and accessible apps is paramount to appeal to young investors, according to data and analytics company GlobalData. GlobalData’s ‘2018 Mass Affluent Investors Survey’ found that 53.3 per cent of mass affluent investors between the ages of 18–34 agree they are easily flustered when things are complicated. The company sees this as proof that products should be kept simple in order to reach the young mass affluent population and encourage them to begin investing.

“It is important to remember that while these apps may seem easy to use to the well-informed, tech-savvy crowd, it is just as important to ensure the same is true for less technologically advanced individuals, or even people who do not understand the market as much,” GlobalData’s associate wealth management analyst Oliver Wintle said. “Those providers that are not acute to this will lose out to competitors that provide platforms that resonate better with the masses.” A digital product that is simple and easy to use can help companies welcome new users that were previously put off by jargon and complicated procedures, he added.

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Boutique fund manager Channel Capital has announced that it is now offering Australian investors access to global investment manager RWC Partners. The CC RWC Global Emerging Markets Fund provides investment exposure to global emerging markets and frontier markets with the objective of providing long-term capital appreciation. The fund is an Australian registered managed investment scheme and invests in the underlying fund (the RWC Global Emerging Markets Fund), managed by RWC Asset Management LLP.

The strategy is managed by emerging market veteran portfolio manager John Malloy and co-portfolio manager Thomas Allraum. The two PMs and their 19-strong investment team currently manage $8.21 billion on behalf of its clients and brings together the economic and cultural perspectives of 13 nationalities, speak 16 languages and draw on business experience gained from having worked together around the world for over twenty years. This is a first time ‘recommended’ rating by Zenith Investment Partners for the Fund.

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IBM has launched a real-time global payments network for regulated financial institutions called Blockchain World Wire, designed to ease friction in cross-border payments. IBM launched the network at Money 20/20’s Asia conference and said it is the first blockchain network of its kind to integrate payment messaging, clearing and settlement on a single network. The network utilises the Stellar protocol to enable financial institutions to optimise and accelerate foreign exchange, cross-border payments and remittances.

Gender equality advocate 30% Club Australia is aiming for the ASX201-300 companies to have 30 per cent of their boards occupied by women, with the hope that it will be achieved by 2021. The company has also established a new Investment banking/Private Equity Working Group to seek greater support from the business and investment community, and to increase their contribution to the initiative. Susan Roberts, head of Investor Working 30% Club, said the division will be working with investors from the wealth management sector and Australian super funds to focus on achieving diversity on ASX300 boards.

“Large super funds and fund managers are leading the way in advocating for gender diversity, based on the belief that companies that are well-governed and sustainable will deliver positive results over the long term” Ms Roberts said. Previously, only firms in the top 200 listings on the ASX had been targeted. The number of female company directors for the ASX201-300 last year stood at 19.7 per cent, with 28 companies still lacking women on their boards.

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