AustralianSuper over-compensated for the risk of its in-house equities project management in 2013 to ensure success, according to its head of equities, Innes McKeand. He told delegates at the Equities Summit that while this had created much work for himself and head of investment operations, Peter Curtis, it would have been preferable to a higher risk … Read more
Investors at the Conexus Financial Equities Summit discussed the emerging break down of allocation buckets when investing in equities, as a result of favoured fund managers reaching capacity constraints because of the growth of superannuation funds. As funds continue to get larger they might need to consider giving managers more flexibility with mandates, says Brett … Read more
‘Long-term investors’ will remain short-term investors until they move beyond three year contracts with external managers, according to Saker Nusseibeh, chief executive of Hermes. Challenging delegates at the Equities Summit to question accepted beliefs, Nusseibeh said a bias to owning ‘quality companies’ without carrying out engagement to improve governance was another common investor deceit. The … Read more
Australian superannuation funds achieved the fourth highest growth rate of funds under management worldwide between 2009-2014, according to Towers Watson. Only Chinese, South Korea and Norwegian pension funds achieved higher growth rates when measured in US dollars, while Australia overtakes Norway to move third when assets are measured in local currency. Chinese funds grew an … Read more
Trustees need to be providing a “chain of evidence” over key investment decisions that detail planning, implementation and risk management, according to Craig Roodt, head of investment risk for APRA. Roodt was speaking at the AIST ASI conference on compliance with SPS 530 which requires super funds to have in place a sound investment governance … Read more
To be a long term successful chief investment officer in a major super fund you need to excel in at least three major skill areas: investment management, people leadership not just management, and excellent stakeholder and communications skills. A fourth skill could be managing increasing complexity. Expectations for all these areas have grown as AUM … Read more
Motivated by making a difference and a passion for trustee education, founder of CIE and industry stalwart, Melda Donnelly has joined Conexus Financial as a senior advisor. Donnelly, who has served on various boards for 28 years, sees board governance and decision making as key issues to be improved in the superannuation industry. As the … Read more
Judging by the conversations in the breaks at the AIST ASI conference, these were the three sessions that stimulated delegates the most. Greater information will lead to the end of traditional asset allocation buckets In one of the standout presentations from the conference Jai Jacob, managing director and portfolio manager at Lazard Asset Management … Read more
First State Super will increase the use of multi-asset managers to 10 per cent of its $50 billion fund for reasons of liquidity, low fees and the high prices of alternative assets. In a case study at the AIST’s ASI conference, Dr Zoe McHugh, investment strategist at First State Super, told delegates of the soon … Read more
Mark Tinker, head of Axa Framlington Asia, gave delegates many persuasive reasons why they should not get caught up in the widespread fears of a Chinese meltdown and the impact of that on the global economy. Here is a summary of a paper he provided to delegates, in which he referred to the doubters as … Read more
AustralianSuper has achieved costs of only 9 basis points on its internally run domestic equities portfolio, two years after it first launched. In a presentation on internal management at AIST ASI on the Gold Coast, Peter Curtis, head of investment operations at the $90 billion fund, told how this figure would decrease once the global … Read more
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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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