Telstra Super has launched its defensive growth option for members with a somewhat diminished risk-appetite but who still need a more nimble and flexible asset allocation.

Chief investment officer, Jim Christensen, said the return objective was CPI plus 2 per cent a year, with an investment timeframe of two- to six-years.

The strategic asset allocatin of thee option will be: Australian equities 40 per cent, credit 20 per cent, infrastructure 10 per cent, direct property 10 per cent, international fixed interest 6 per cent, Australian fixed interest 14 per cent, with no allocation to cash.

At the time I&T News went to press, Telstra Super had not given details about the proportions of member assets currently in each of the investment choice options.

Chief executive Martin Crowe said the fund had been working for a “considerable” time on the option to provide for members “who have a lower appetite for risk when deciding how they will continue to invest their retirement savings”.

He said the flexibility of the option was its biggest point of difference with “more fluid adjustments” and “some degree of flexibility to pursue good investment opportunities as they emerge”.

At the same time as this launch, Telstra Super announced that members can apply to have their externally-held Death or Death and Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) cover transferred and matched by Telstra Super at the fund’s group cover rates.

Members must prove the external cover held, along with exclusions and loadings, and these arrangements are available to accumulation- and defined-benefit members in both employer-sponsored and personal divisions.