In 2024 AMP became the first Australian super fund to commit to cryptocurrency after the asset class won “institutional legitimacy” from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. AMP head of portfolio management Stuart Eliot explained to the Fiduciary Investors Symposium how AMP broke new ground, and the process behind its inclusion.
Aware Super has moved to fill a gap in its retirement solutions expertise after its former head of retirement was hired away by AustralianSuper. The $190 billion fund has recruited a key former member of Australian Retirement Trust’s team to focus on developing strategy across retirement products and services.
The Age Pension remains a significant source of income for the majority of retired Australians, yet it remains one of the most misunderstood aspects of our retirement system. Improving understanding can’t be achieved through product innovation alone. We need a national push to improve retirement literacy, led by an industry committed to simplifying complexity and delivering solutions that work in the real world.
The hurdles in private markets are likely to be less impactful on super funds than on the members they represent, and indeed individual investors in general. But success is not guaranteed.
The US$350 billion CalSTRS is still in the process of moving to the total portfolio approach but has already found that it can move faster on investment opportunities that don’t fit easily into a traditional asset class framework.
In memory of industry veteran journalist and entrepreneur Greg Bright, who passed away in August last year, the Fund Executives Association Limited is launching the Greg Bright Scholarship for Excellence in Member Communications, an educational scholarship for an emerging leader in a role involving member communications.
The sovereign wealth fund will for the first time be permitted to manage Australian infrastructure and property internally as it moves to act on investment opportunities that external managers might be overlooking and bring more dollars home amidst global geopolitical upheaval.
A highly disruptive and unorthodox US federal administration is redefining geopolitics. Asset owners with long-term investment objectives need to address a new set of emerging questions.
The Future Fund is sounding the alarm on investors’ reliance on the US dollar, warning that shifting global dynamics could upend the currency’s long-standing dominance. Chief investment officer Ben Samild told the Investment Magazine Fiduciary Investors Symposium that the global institutional order is changing, making portfolio construction considerably more challenging.
Asset owners seeking diversification are turning to insurance-linked securities, including catastrophe bonds, but the Fiduciary Investors Symposium heard the asset class requires quite a bit of caution. Despite strong returns in recent years, losses can be unpredictable and significant.
The start of US President Trump’s second term introduced significant volatility to the leveraged credit market. Executive orders, trade policies, and elevated interest rates collectively hindered deal flow. The current environment, while turbulent, presents opportunities for active investment managers to identify undervalued credits that offer attractive yields.
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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.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land upon which Conexus Financial sits, the Cadigal of the Eora Nation. We recognise their continuing connection and unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and community. We pay our deepest respects to them and their culture, and to Elders both past and present.
