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The brunt of losses from the LA wildfires are expected to be borne by primary insurers and high-risk reinsurance programs, but super funds are nevertheless closely monitoring the possible impact of the fires on catastrophe bond and insurance-linked securities exposures.
Simon HoyleJanuary 17, 2025
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The latest
Real estate
AustralianSuper makes first move in European logistics property
The $355 billion AustralianSuper has acquired a $1.4 billion European industrial and logistics portfolio, owned by OMERS real estate subsidiary Oxford Properties. The nation’s biggest fund is targeting a $7.5 billion valuation for the venture and $35 billion allocation in European and UK region before 2030, supported by its biggest international office in London with 121 employees.
Leadership & profiles
Funds SA hones in on performance after investment function review
Since taking over the top job at the $44 billion Funds SA more than a year ago, chief executive John Piteo has ushered in an investment function overhaul and wrapped up an important stage of the fund’s five-year data transformation program. It pledges to recentre around investment performance and more efficient processes, as the “missing piece” has been found in incoming CIO Con Michalakis.
Analysis
Bragg’s issue with Cbus trust deed misses the point
Almost every discussion about superannuation has become politically charged, even on esoteric issues such as historical trust deed amendments, over which Coalition Senator Andrew Bragg is accusing Cbus chair Wayne Swan of misleading the Senate.
30 - 31 January, 2025
Chair Forum
3 - 5 June, 2025
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
22 July, 2025
Insurance in Super Summit
Leadership
Leadership & profiles
CIOs on managing ‘mad, happy’ families and their own use-by date
The job of the chief investment officer has changed as super funds themselves have evolved in scope and scale. Today, the job is as much about managing a – sometimes global – asset management business as it is about managing investments. Staying focused on meeting the long-term objectives of fund members is an increasingly taxing task and, inevitably, all CIOs have a “use-by” date. For some, that day is closer than for others.
Simon HoyleJanuary 9, 2025
Profiles
Hostplus admits global fundie woes pose risk to external manager strategy
Hostplus chief investment officer Sam Sicilia has declared that for as long as he and chief executive David Elia are overseeing the $110 billion fund, there will be no investment internalisation. However, he acknowledges that if the institutional asset manager business model comes too much under pressure, it poses risks and instability to Hostplus’ externalisation model.
Darcy SongSeptember 10, 2024
Leadership & profiles
Swan reflects on ‘breathtaking’ super achievement as Cbus turns 40
In a discussion with Conexus Financial editor-in-chief Aleks Vickovich, current Cbus chair and former federal Treasurer Wayne Swan reflects on four decades of Cbus, his own role in establishing a system of retirement saving that is about to hit $4 trillion and is the envy of most other developed countries, and the role of superannuation in Australian society more broadly.
Investment MagazineJune 25, 2024
Member engagement
Retirement
Financial advice reform a thorn in retirement’s side
Superannuation funds are being called upon to do more to assist the millions of Baby Boomers currently transitioning to retirement. But the task of developing retirement income strategies for members has been tripped up by the nation’s notoriously complex financial advice laws. And the project’s success now hinges on a reform agenda that remains far from certain.
Aleks Vickovich and Simon HoyleJanuary 15, 2025
Operations
Thinking past tech, processes and systems to foster a culture of resilience
A super fund’s operational resilience could be tested at any moment, from any direction. The robustness of technology, processes and systems obviously play a critical role in enabling funds to absorb shocks and to bounce back; but just as important is fostering an organisation-wide culture of resilience built on accountability.
Simon HoyleDecember 18, 2024
Governance
Deloitte Cbus report blows lid on director self-assessment
In an under-reported finding from the explosive report into Cbus governance, the consulting firm Deloitte has laid bare the shortcomings of a process that allows directors to self-assess skill sets when appointed to the board and when their tenure is renewed. Legal experts said self-assessment itself is not a sin, but complacency at a board level could be.
Darcy SongDecember 6, 2024
Industry and regulation
Opinion
Industry funds are already war-gaming a royal commission
If suggestions of a royal commission inquiry into profit-to-member super funds come to pass, the sector would be well-advised to embrace the scrutiny it brings with it and to avoid repeating the mistakes the Coalition and the banks made in trying to stave off the Hayne royal commission.
Aleks VickovichDecember 19, 2024
Industry trends
Trump, inflation and the challenges of the year ahead
As super fund CIOs return to work for 2025, all eyes are on two things: Donald Trump’s presidency, and inflation. But they’re not the only issues that will drive investment decisions and returns, and some of them may present an unfamiliar set of challenges for a cohort of investment professionals that has grown up experiencing a particular set of market and economic conditions.
Simon HoyleJanuary 7, 2025
Investments
Crypto sceptics question AMP’s bitcoin bet
AMP Super has become the first Australian super fund, and one of the first global pension investors, to allocate money into cryptocurrency. It gained the exposure through an internal quant trading program of bitcoin futures in its DAA program. Sceptical observers say the level of interest in cryptocurrency from funds is “very correlated” with market highs, but the lack of economic fundamentals weakens the long-term investment case.
Darcy SongDecember 13, 2024