Asset owners like the Future Fund continue to weigh up the shifting risk-return attributes of the booming data centre sector including deal structures, refinancing, energy requirements, and the future of AI.
Some funds experiencing weaker growth and operational inefficiency “often do not appear to be in a position” to improve their outlook, according to the prudential regulator. While specific funds weren’t named and shamed, APRA put a handful on notice to provide clear evidence they’ll lift their game.
Vanguard Australia managing director Daniel Shrimski has warned against watering down the Your Future Your Super performance test but thinks that changes to its benchmarks could encourage investment in “emerging asset classes”.
ASIC expressed reservations about changing RG97 to provide relief from stamp duty disclosure obligations prior to committing to a review, according to internal documents released to Investment Magazine under freedom of information laws. The corporate regulator also told Treasurer Jim Chalmers it will also reduce its data collection efforts and streamline the Financial Accountability Regime to make it less “burdensome”.
The size of the current infrastructure investment gap and the speed at which it is widening mean there is both a desire and a need for more public-private partnerships to unlock funding. Investors say that collaboration with local governments and raising public awareness of private investment benefits are crucial.
CIOs are now less likely to make individual investment decisions than manage the guardrails designed to stop them from going bad. But they must also now consider how politics can shape them too.
Macquarie’s decision to compensate its superannuation customers who lost money in the collapse of the Shield managed investment scheme looks good, but – having been caught red-handed – it really had no choice. And the way the compensation is structured will ultimately cost it a fraction of the headline figure.
Macquarie will purchase the holdings of Shield clients on its superannuation platform, returning millions of dollars to investors, and will aim to claw back what it can from liquidators but foot the remainder of the compensation bill itself. But whether other trustees will be as proactive as Macquarie remains to be seen, with Equity Trustees seemingly unlikely to budge on its position that it fulfilled its fiduciary duties.
ASIC has lifted the interim stop order on La Trobe’s Australian Credit Fund, but is still in discussions with the manager about its US Private Credit product. Meanwhile, influential asset consultant Frontier Advisors has called out poor liquidity management in the sector.
Legacy IT systems get a bad rap, often being blamed for holding super funds back on efficiency and service delivery. If they’re well-maintained, legacy systems can continue to work for years after their presumed use-by date, but because they’re not shiny and new they often get neglected.
As a total portfolio approach to managing members’ money gains popularity, some super funds may find their plans to move in this direction thwarted by inadequate or incomplete technology. But those who can build the right foundations will be far better equipped to act – not just react – as the investment world keeps shifting.
New research shows that people arrive at retirement from different directions, having traversed a range of issues during their working lives. And if that’s not already stressful enough, the lack of a coherent industry-wide response to the Retirement Income Covenant isn’t helping.
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