The CPP currently has funds under management of about US$120 billion, putting it in the top 10 pension funds in the world, and a staff of about 400. VFMC, at $40 billion, is one of only a handful of Australian funds (actually the management arm for a consortium of Victorian Government employee funds) which can participate in co-investments such as the Birmingham airport.

But due to amalgamations, organic growth and increasing co-operation, their number is growing. Bevans told Global Dialogue that a funds management firm, on the other hand, would be unable to write a cheque for more than $1 billion for an investment from one of its funds, because it would need a certain level of diversification. But some pension funds could write cheques for twice that amount. He added: “Why do we give away 30-40 per cent of the return from an infrastructure deal to a manager who doesn’t add any value?”

Global Dialogue, held every two years by Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST), involves about 80 fund executives and trustees and 12-14 service providers/sponsors. Australians make up about two-thirds of the attendees and US, Canadian and UK pension fund representatives the rest.

This year the theme was: ‘Global Co-operation for Sustainability, Governance and Long-Term Returns’. For Australian super funds, discussions about sustainability and governance are not new, but the co-operation angle struck a nerve with participants. The possibilities for access to new large-scale investments, new types of investments and better control over all investments through co-operation between funds provided for compelling engagement.

Several concrete outcomes from the conference could signal more significant developments over the next few years. For instance, a staff-swap arrangement announced at the end of the conference may well hasten international co-operation by funds.

CalPERS, the $US380 billion Californian public sector fund, announced it would look at offering three-month staff exchange opportunities with Australian funds, initially among its 150-person investment team. The fund does its own administration, with total staff dwarfing that of most large funds managers at about 2,500. David Atkin, the chief executive of Cbus, said during a conference wrap-up session that the exchange of ideas and discussion across funds was of considerable benefit and that, because of the size of some US pension funds, there were opportunities for leverage in the areas of corporate governance and large-scale investments. “Imagine the impact that US funds could have in an Australian context for investment,” he said. Atkin also said partnerships with super funds could offer sovereign wealth funds an opportunity when they wanted to invest in international markets because it could reduce the political backlash which is sometimes associated with their activities. “It’s an opportunity for them to partner with local funds as passive investors and an opportunity for us to broaden our funds under management capabilities,” he said.