Australian super funds are on an inexorable drive to increase their allocations to a new and growing range of alternatives but in what context is this trend being driven?

Australian super funds are on an inexorable drive to increase their allocations to a new and growing range of alternatives but in what context is this trend being driven? Graeme Miller, the head of asset consulting for Watson Wyatt – the asset consultant to the Future Fund – will set the scene at the Absolute Returns Funds 2007 conference, ‘Investment Strategies for the Future’, being held at the Melbourne Sofitel Hotel on August 23. Addressing the topic ‘Asset Allocation: the Brave New World of Low Correlations’, Miller will examine the framework on which the trend to alternatives is based, including likely investment outcomes in a market meltdown. The conference, produced by Investment & Technology and endorsed by the Alternative Investment Management Association, Australian chapter, is the largest of its kind designed specifically for institutional investors and their advisers. Other speakers include: Ron Insana, founder Insana Capital Partners of New York; Geoffrey Summerhayes, regional general manager, National Australia Bank; Andrew Dempsey, v.p. Fortress Investment Group of the US; Stephen Goode, CIO of Tactical Global Management; Andrew Howard, senior portfolio manager, Mercer Global Investments; Gregor Andrade, v.p. AQR Capital Management of the US; Lochiel Crafter, CIO Asia Pacific, SSgA; Jonathan Hall, division director, MQ Specialist Investment Management; Steven Hall, director, Brookvine; David Nott, regional leader, Asia Pacific, KPMG Transaction Services; Adrian Ryder, head of beta management, QIC; John Nolan, executive director, investments, Warakirri Asset Management; Jon Glass, principal, FineAnswers; and Duane Spelding, of Innovative Investment Procedures of the US. Information and registrations: www.investmenttechnology.com.au