Bloomberg announced its acquisition of all UBS Australia’s bond indexes in April this year.
According to a statement released by Bloomberg, all the benchmarks have now transitioned to Bloomberg’s management.
The statement said the Bloomberg AusBond Indexes comprised more than 700 AUD and NSD bonds with a total market value over $1 trillion.
First State Super, Vanguard Investments and Omega Global Investors were among the first to transition to the new index, the statement reported.
According to Vanguard’s head of fixed income in the Asia Pacific, Stephen Howard, the methodologies employed by Bloomberg were a key determinant in selecting portfolio benchmarks.
“The integrity, transparency and consistency of both the index construction process and pricing methodologies are critical factors in selecting a portfolio benchmark that provides an investor with a fair representation of the opportunity set available to them as an end investor,” he said.
“Vanguard is looking forward to working with Bloomberg to see the AusBond Indexes offered in a manner consistent with global best practice.”
Bloomberg AusBond Indexes spokesperson Kerry Angel said the response to the transition had been positive.
“We have been extremely encouraged by the positive market feedback from Australian asset managers and institutional investors since acquiring the AusBond Indexes, and look forward to serving the fixed income community, leveraging our deep heritage in bond markets,” she said.
