AustralianSuper is running a review of its currency management, to determine if there’s merit in moving to a more active position.
The review is being run by senior investment manager Peter Curtis’ team. He said the $30 billion fund currently has a strategic benchmark of 17.5 per cent for its offshore currency exposure, which is passively maintained by State Street Global Advisors. “;We’re in the very early stages of preparing a report, testing the claims of managers who tell us they can add value through an active approach to currency,”; Curtis said. AustralianSuper maintains a fully-hedged position for longer-dated offshore currency exposures, through asset classes such as property and infrastructure.
Future Fund chief investment officer Ben Samild said that FY24 has been a great year for alpha creation, thanks to strong returns in equities and, unusually, across multiple hedge fund strategies all at the same time. He reflected the past few years have been “a difficult time to be an asset owner and to generate positive returns for risk assets” but the Future Fund is tracking well of its long-term mandate.
Simon Hoyle and Darcy SongSeptember 4, 2024
