JANA Investment Advisors has been counselling its cashed-up clients to seize more active opportunities, in some cases recommending a reweighting toward international equities.
Julie Lander, chief executive at JANA client CARE Super, said the $3.6 billion fund had built up an overweight stake in cash over the past few months, and JANA had suggested that it was timely to start looking at opportunities to unwind that position. “JANA is putting forward suggestions. There are opportunities in credit, infrastructure products, and maybe in equities – though not necessarily global equities,” she said. “But the board hasn’t made any decisions yet.” Lander added that exploiting such opportunities would probably mean adding to CARE’s stable of funds managers; in existing asset classes to managers with slightly different products, and, most likely, to new managers in the alternatives space. It is understood that another JANA client, the $1 billion Queensland-based hospitality industry fund Intrust, has been encouraged back into international equities although CEO Brendan O’Farrell was unavailable for comment at presstime. JANA’s head of investment research, Steven Carew, confirmed the consultant was talking to many of its clients about seizing opportunities in markets where value had presented itself, but he said specific asset class suggestions varied from client to client.
AustralianSuper’s appointment of a general manager, retirement to replace Shawn Blackmore, which follows ART's redeployment of Kathy Vincent to chief operating officer, shows that mega funds are back-pedalling on the strategy of having dedicated retirement C-suite executives. The role had been touted as the next big thing in super funds' organisational structures, but experts say what matters is there is senior accountability for decumulation.
Darcy SongDecember 4, 2024
