“India is a very under-appreciated economy by many global investors, but China is far more important at this stage.”

In addition to China’s voracious appetite for Australia’s natural resources, Hughes flagged tertiary education and tourism as major economic drawcards.

“We don’t appreciate that Australia is the major destination for Chinese students right now […] and the potential for our tourism industry to benefit from visiting Chinese is something that we have no idea about.

“I tried to retire seven years ago. I failed retirement, but I’m glad that I did because the rise of China is a once-in-a-couple-of-centuries event. It is fantastic to be around and see it evolve, and attempt to achieve better returns for super fund members.”

Before joining Catholic Super, Hughes ran a fixed income boutique and asset allocation advisory business called Value Capital Management, which he founded after working as CIO at Rothschild Australia for five years.