Glass has, in the past, also raised concerns about the fee structure of hedge fund-of-fund products. In September the fund appointed private markets specialist Quentin Ayers to provide advice about selecting private equity managers in Australia and overseas. About 6 per cent of Media Super’s assets were previously invested in private equity fund-of-fund vehicles and Media Super will let these commitments run down as it looks to appoint managers over the next three years. “Private equity provides a diversification away from the volatility that we are experiencing in public equity, especially if you hold the view that public equity will remain volatile for the foreseeable future,” Andersen says. Frontier will continue to advise the fund on its overall asset allocation and how much it holds in private equity.

Andersen says that currently its most popular option, the balanced option, has 28 per cent in Australian equities, 22 per cent in international equities, 3 per cent in private equity, 3 per cent in international private equity and 12 per cent in infrastructure. The balanced option also consists of 9 per cent in direct property, 5 per cent in “alpha opportunities”, 15 per cent in diversified fixed interest and 3 per cent in cash. Media Super allows its members to design their own investment strategy from four pre-mixed investment options and six asset-specific investment options – including a socially responsible option.