Master custody for the two ACT Treasury funds, with combined funds under management of $3.2 billion, has come up for review.
The Treasury’s five-year contract with custodian JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services has expired, and the fund is currently in the process of reviewing half-a-dozen potential custodians under the advice of Mercer Sentinel. Lucas Nicholls, assistant manager of the Superannuation Unit, Investments & Economics Division, said the review should be completed within two months. The Treasury manages two underlying funds, the $2.1 billion Super Provision Account – a standard fund with cash, domestic and international bonds and equities, indirect unlisted property, and the more conservative $1.1 billion General Government Portfolio, which is split between cash and indexed fixed interest. The fund is also in the final throes of a strategic asset allocation review with its asset consultant, Russell Investment Group.
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
