The $400 billion AustralianSuper has been named most transparent super fund in Australia and the fourth in the overall Global Pension Transparency Benchmark ranking, scoring 93 out of 100. But on a five-year basis, Australian Retirement Trust saw the biggest score uplift as its merger prompted the creation of more rigorous public reporting standards.
Robin Khuda, the billionaire founder and CEO of private equity darling AirTrunk, told the Investment Magazine Fiduciary Investors Symposium that the business of data centres is expanding to include activities such as power generation – which makes them even more challenging to categorise as assets. But investors who aren’t siloed in their thinking are most likely to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by a seemingly insatiable appetite for capital.
Requests for state intervention for compensation of Shield and First Guardian victims may seem ridiculous, especially given the wealth and power enjoyed by some of the companies embroiled in the scandal. But Australia’s unique superannuation system is no free market, so the private sector alone should not be expected to find the solutions.
Australia’s super system faces three converging investment challenges: deciding when to go active; navigating the growth of “benchmark-anchored” investing; and managing capacity constraints as assets under management balloon. Geoff Warren, research fellow at The Conexus Institute, unpacked the problems at the Fiduciary Investors Symposium.
The AI evolution has a long way to run, according to Blue Owl’s Alicia Gregory, who told the Investment Magazine Fiduciary Investors Symposium that the US market remains one of the best places to get exposure to it.
UniSuper chief investment officer John Pearce has no problem pulling mandates if a trusted portfolio manager leaves an external manager, arguing that investment edge often rides on top talents. In a wide-ranging chat at the Investment Magazine Fiduciary Investors Symposium, Pearce reflected on more than 16 years leading the fund’s $150 billion portfolio.
Passive equity strategies have grown to dominate the investment landscape, but rising concentration risks, benchmark performance tests, and hidden passive costs are prompting asset owners to consider more nuanced approaches.
Despite prevailing pessimism, Stanford University academic Professor Stephen Kotkin has told the Investment Magazine Fiduciary Investors Symposium that the US’ role as a global superpower is a long-term trend asset owners can count on. But one of the most significant issues they must navigate is how the US and China learn to co-exist while pursuing diametrically opposed objectives.
Asset owners that tip billions into a broad emerging markets opportunity set and hope for the best will likely get the worst outcomes. A better way is to examine each country and manager on their own merits.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s review of how superannuation funds communicate with members on retirement issues has revealed patchy progress and raised multiple issues requiring further attention and action. But funds say the report a useful assessment of progress to date and the specific improvements they can make.
The Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index ranks Australia’s pension system seventh-best in the world, with the Netherlands continuing to lead the way. An improvement in Australia’s score over last year was due primarily to better adequacy, driven by an increase in superannuation guarantee contributions. A lack of compulsion on taking income in retirement continues to be a drag.
With more of their investments increasingly subject to “rule-of-law” risk, and even exceptional assets overvalued, the Investment Magazine Fiduciary Investors Symposium has heard that while many asset owners remain bullish about US exceptionalism, they are questioning how much they are willing to pay for it.
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Investment Magazine provides in-depth, monthly analysis of trends and developments for all the businesses in which superannuation funds engage‚ including asset allocation, investment manager selection, custody and fund accounting, member administration, group insurance and compliance.
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