2024 Fiduciary Investors Symposium VIC

Melbourne Airport and Melbourne CBD (Federation Square)

Secularly, we are in a new paradigm, with echoes of the past. Inflation, interest rates, fiscal policy and geopolitics matter more than they have in decades, and combined with new disruptive technologies, are likely to shape macro conditions and market outcomes. Traditional portfolios are vulnerable in this environment, and the need for portfolio resiliency is as great as ever. Cyclically, policymakers are currently testing the limits, though with significant divergences in conditions globally, policy will likely be deployed to different degrees. This creates an environment of directional and differential macro volatility.

This panel of senior leaders in institutional asset owners will respond to the opening session and set the scene for key themes of the symposium. It will explore how institutional investors are actively building in more resilience into portfolios and assessing the long-term asset price and portfolio implications of big secular trends.

Includes table discussion

In this In Conversation, we'll discuss TCorp's recent major restructure under CIO Stewart Brentnall. OneFund, a $47 billion entity aimed at boosting annual performance annually through fewer investment constraints and enhanced operational efficiencies.

We'll cover the collaborative efforts with the Treasury and the Treasurer, focusing on the new Total Portfolio Approach (TPA) that separates strategy from management. Key topics include investment research, strategy development, portfolio construction, and implementation. Stewart will share insights on achieving operational efficiencies, team expansion, and optimising the state's balance sheet for higher long-term returns.

Most Australian institutional asset owners have committed to net zero and face significant challenges in achieving it, particularly within fixed income portfolios. In this keynote presentation, Erik van Leeuwen will discuss practical strategies for decarbonising fixed income portfolios. By considering the regulatory environment, including Your Future, Your Super, and sustainability data risks, Erik will offer insights into balancing risk management, return potential, and sustainability. Emphasis will be placed on integrating leading climate metrics into portfolios in a data-driven and flexible manner.

Join Mark McGowan AC, former Premier of Western Australia, for a dynamic In Conversation hosted by Colin Tate AM. McGowan will share his experiences leading Western Australia through economic recovery and public health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. He will discuss his vision for community investment, sustainable development, and strategies for navigating transformational change. The session will conclude with an interactive Q&A, offering delegates the opportunity to engage directly with McGowan.

While the world is facing persistent, higher inflation, some central banks are expected to start cutting rates, making the outlook for cash less attractive. Meanwhile, revaluation in bond markets has taken yields back to levels not seen in decades. But will that translate into returns over the long term, or will yawning deficits interfere? Will bonds revert to being a defensive asset, or are years like 2022 where stocks and bonds fall in tandem the new norm? This session will assess the macroeconomic outlook and implications for fixed income investors.

Appetite for private credit investments, among both asset managers/lenders and asset owners/investors, continues to increase despite a flurry of high-profile warnings. This unique session will showcase 2 asset managers making the case for distinct and alternative private credit strategies followed by a response from 2 asset owners/consultants on the merits and applicability of the pitches to their portfolios.

Includes table discussion

In 2023, venture capital fundraising declined by nearly 60 percent, equalling its lowest total since 2015, and deal volume fell by 36 per cent to lowest level since 2019. And yet, upstream, private equity (PE) buyout strategies posted their best fundraising year on record. This session will assess appetite for PE, especially early-stage venture, and ask whether there are buying opportunities afoot for adventurous asset owners.

This session will assess the rising influence of fiduciary capital as a force for corporate governance and activist investing in equity markets, both the ASX and abroad. It will discuss strategies to hold management and boards to account and meet member/stakeholder expectations.

This session takes delegates behind the scenes of one of the year’s most high-profile deals: UniSuper’s US$400 million investment in the Macquarie Green Energy and Climate Opportunities Fund. The conversation will cut across geographies, asset classes and technologies to draw out the most exciting prospects, along with the challenges, on the path to decarbonisation.

This session will assess the outlook for commercial real estate and prospect of further valuation decline in office and retail exposures, along with a range of emerging and attractive alternative sub-sectors such as last mile logistics, childcare and Life Sciences. It will also interrogate the case for residential and even social housing exposures, which the federal government is eager for asset owners to allocate to.

Exposure to the so-called Magnificent Seven US technology companies is increasingly seen as a non-negotiable for institutional investors, and was cited as a major factor separating the performance of super fund peers in the past financial year. But this contrarian presentation will go beyond the hype, arguing just two of these stocks truly deserve the moniker 'magnificent'. In so doing, it will give a broader outlook on key trends, including artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, while also addressing the challenges posed by market concentration from the Magnificent Seven to portfolio managers and asset allocators.

The symposium convenes just days before a US presidential election which could have significant implications for the global world order, economy and financial markets, as well as key macro trends from the energy transition to artificial intelligence.

This session, featuring a leading academic authority on US domestic and foreign policy and party politics will give delegates an account of the state of play in the electoral race and path to victory for both sides. It will also draw out the broader implications of the next US federal administration and America’s place in the world.

Includes table discussion

Following on from yesterday’s discussion about the US election, this session will outline the key geopolitical risks facing the globe and institutional investors, with a focus on the US-China relationship and relations in the Asia-Pacific.

This session explores the adaptation required as we progress from accumulation to decumulation. We consider the preferences of retirees and how they are operationally managed in both DB and DC super funds.

The next era of portfolio construction will require navigating the complex intersection of liquidity, leverage, and exposure management in the search of superior alpha generation. We look beyond the shores of Australia for insights into portfolio design, liquidity targeting, robust strategic diversification. Key points include managing scalability concerns, balancing cost and efficiency trade-offs, and employing strategic tilting for long-term returns. This session integrates practical insights from the Canadian model, particularly CPPIB's recently updated approach, and addresses emerging trends and technological advancements.

Much has been written about the so-called ‘Canadian model’ of institutional pension fund management, with distinguishing characteristics including high level of internalisation and delegated investment authority. By contrast, the Australian superannuation sector is beginning to diverge into multiple business/operating models within investment functions that are distinct and each with their own sets of benefits and challenges. This session profiles local proponents of these emerging models and asks delegates to reflect on their organisation’s own value proposition.

Includes table discussion

Led by The Conexus Institute, this interactive final session will debate the merits of CPI+ as an investment objective and question whether investment teams are correctly prioritising and managing the various investment objectives open to them including Your Future Your Super performance test, peer ranking, and CPI+.

Melbourne Airport and Melbourne CBD (Federation Square)