Under the proposed transaction, Link will acquire 100% of registrar services. The transaction is subject to certain approvals.

Based in Eschborn, near Frankfurt, registrar services is part of Deutsche Bank’s Global Transaction Banking division. The company is a pioneer in share registry services in Germany and has long-standing relationships with large cap companies like Deutsche Bank.

As part of the Link Group global network, Link Market Services is active in share registry, superannuation administration and shareholder and member analytics. In share registry, the Link Group is active in Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa with a sister company operating in the United States and Canada.

Satvinder Singh, Head of Trust & Securities Services/Cash Management Financial Institutions in Deutsche Bank’s Global Transaction Banking, said:  “In line with Deutsche Bank’s strategy of focusing on its core competencies, we are pleased to have found a specialized partner that will continue to offer Deutsche Bank and its clients high quality share registry and shareholder services. In Link, we have found a committed partner that will also execute the transition sensitively and continue to invest in the acquired business.”

John McMurtrie, Managing Director and a Board Member of the Link Group: “This is an exciting transaction for Link as it broadens our global footprint and increases our exposure to the important EMEA market. As a leading provider of shareholder services, we are committed to growing this business with alignment to our existing platform. We look forward to working with Deutsche Bank and its clients.”

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The proceedings were started by two investors of the FMIF seeking orders for the appointment of Trilogy Funds Management Limited as responsible entity of the FMIF. The current responsible entity, LM Investment Management Limited, opposed this application.

Appearing in the Queensland Supreme Court this week, ASIC sought orders that the FMIF be wound-up and that registered liquidators from PricewaterhouseCoopers be appointed as the receivers to wind up the FMIF.

‘ASIC took this action as it believes that the appointment of receivers to the FMIF will allow the winding-up to proceed in the most efficient and cost effective way to provide the best chance of achieving the maximum return for investors,’ ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer said.

‘As such, ASIC believes that the persons responsible for winding-up the FMIF should be appropriately independent.

‘It is ASIC’s view that the protracted litigation surrounding the FMIF is not in the best interests of investors and wishes to see the matter resolved as soon as possible.’

Before this week’s proceedings Deutsche Bank, a secured creditor of the FMIF, appointed McGrathNicol as receiver of the FMIF. If appointed, ASIC proposes that the incoming receivers work in conjunction with Deutsche Bank’s receiver for an orderly realisation of the assets of FMIF.

Justice Dalton reserved her decision in the matter.

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Is the super cycle over?

Time to move on from commodities to global stock picking

Morgan Stanley last week joined a growing list of big investment banks beating a partial retreat from commodities trading. Like Barclays, UBS and Deutsche Bank, it is struggling to make sense of a business where revenues have tumbled since the hey-day of the natural resources boom immediately prior to the financial crisis. So is the commodities super-cycle over?

For three reasons, I think the remarkable rally in the prices of energy and metals (although maybe not food which marches to a different beat) may have ground to a halt. If so, this might have big implications for investors.

The first headwind for commodities prices going forward is the likely strength of the US dollar, the currency in which most resources are priced. As the US currency rises in value, commodity producers are prepared to accept a lower price because their income remains unchanged in their own currency. And why should the dollar appreciate from here? A combination of economic recovery, interest rates returning to pre-crisis norms, a better trade balance and structural improvements in America’s fiscal situation. Put these together and I expect a decade-long dollar decline to reverse.

The second key driver of commodity prices is demand and here too the outlook points to further declines. The principal reason for this is the ongoing rebalancing of the Chinese economy away from manufacturing, infrastructure investment and exports to domestic consumption. This coupled with a slowing in the overall rate of GDP growth in China means the country, while clearly still a big consumer of resources, will have less of an impact on prices at the margin. Five years ago, exports and private consumption both accounted for about 35% of Chinese GDP but in five years’ time those proportions will probably have become 25% and 40% respectively, a huge relative shift in only ten years.

Thirdly, even as demand for commodities is likely to moderate, the supply of energy and metals is expected to increase in the years ahead. This is a natural consequence of a decade of rising prices which has made previously unviable extraction of, for example, oil from Canadian tar sands financially worthwhile. It is also a result of technological advances, the main driver of the Shale gas revolution in the US about which I’ve written here a few times.

So a combination of dollar strength, weakening demand and increased supply looks like a recipe for lower commodity prices from here. What does this mean for investors?

Firstly, I think it will be broadly supportive of global growth. Lower energy costs increase disposable incomes for individual consumers and cheaper energy and metals reduce input costs for industry.

Secondly, weakening commodity prices contribute to the relative attractiveness of developed markets such as the US, Japan and Europe compared with emerging markets. The West is principally a consumer of commodities and the developing world a producer, although clearly this is a generalisation which will be less true in time as and when the US overtakes Saudi Arabia to become the world’s leading oil producer.

Thirdly, lower commodity prices are likely to lead to lower inflation, which in turn provides central banks with the cover to keep monetary policy looser for longer. In this context, I think the nervousness over the Fed’s tapering of quantitative easing may well have been overdone. The big problem in many economies is debt, public and private, and that makes them extremely sensitive to rising interest rates. Policy will remain easy for longer than some people now believe.

Finally, easing commodity prices could lead to a reduction in the risk-on, risk-off, macro-driven market movements which have characterised investment for the past few years. For one thing, the free lunch in emerging markets looks to be over. The rising tide has lifted all boats in the developing world and investors are going to have to be much more discriminating with their emerging market investments. My colleague Anthony Bolton’s long-held belief that investors will start to differentiate between those companies in China exposed to rising consumption, and those still dependent on an increasingly redundant export and investment model could come good just as he hangs up his boots next year.

Winners and losers from the end of the commodity super-cycle will be found at the country level and among individual stocks and sectors. Domestic Chinese airline, US steel-maker or Australian iron-ore producer? Working out where in the supply chain the real pricing power resides will be key. Trading commodities may not be very rewarding right now but it’s never looked a better time to be a bottom-up global stock picker.

By Tom Stevenson, Investment Director, Fidelity Worldwide Investment

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This document is issued by FIL Responsible Entity (Australia) Limited ABN 33 148 059 009, AFSL No. 409340 (“Fidelity Australia”).  Fidelity Australia is a member of the FIL Limited group of companies commonly known as Fidelity Worldwide Investment.

Prior to making an investment decision, retail investors should seek advice from their financial advisers. This document has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs.  You should consider these matters before acting on the information.  You should also consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statements (“PDS”) for any Fidelity product mentioned in this document before making any decision about whether to acquire the product. The PDS can be obtained by contacting Fidelity Australia on 1800 119 270 or by downloading from our website at www.fidelity.com.au. This document may include general commentary on market activity, sector trends or other broad-based economic or political conditions that should not be taken as investment advice. Information stated herein about specific securities is subject to change. Any reference to specific securities should not be taken as a recommendation to buy, sell or hold these securities. While the information contained in this document has been prepared with reasonable care, no responsibility or liability is accepted for any errors or omissions or misstatements however caused. This document is intended as general information only. The document may not be reproduced or transmitted without prior written permission of Fidelity Australia. The issuer of Fidelity’s managed investment schemes is FIL Responsible Entity (Australia) Limited ABN 33 148 059 009. Reference to ($) are in Australian dollars unless stated otherwise. 

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