Why did the Manchester Airports Group go into partnership with Industry Funds Management earlier this year? DAVID ROWLE Y spoke to both sides of the deal. There is not enough infrastructure for Australian superannuation funds to invest in. Governments find the transactions difficult to explain to the public, while other owners of infrastructure are wary … Read more
To be a long-term investor requires thematic investing because markets and economies are complex adaptive systems, according to Tim Hodgson, global head of the thinking-ahead group at Towers Watson. Hodgson told delegates at the Towers Watson Ideas Exchange in Sydney that economies and markets are complex and adaptive, their path is not random and the … Read more
UniSuper is considering a new type of accumulation fund that sits in between defined contribution and defined benefit. Any such fund would be offered as a choice to members, at its own cost, alongside its current accumulation fund. The option is to be discussed at a strategy meeting in February, based on a proposal based … Read more
Australian super funds can gain an extra 100-200bps of return by overhauling their investment committees, Roger Urwin, global head of investment strategy at Towers Watsons has urged. Speaking at his firm’s annual ideas exchange in Sydney to an audience packed with chief investment officers, he described the change in governance since the GFC as incremental … Read more
The Future Funds’s chief investment officer has given testament to the role of know-how gained from retained hedge fund managers in the success of its dynamic-asset-allocation strategy. In a presentation to the seventh annual Conexus Financial Absolute Returns conference in Melbourne, David Neal emphasised the value added by hedge funds as a contrast to some … Read more
This is a speech recently given by Peter Lambert, chief executive of Local Government Super, to delegates of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees’ Australian Superannuation Investment conference on the merits of divesting from companies making unethical products or whose actions damaged the environment. It was in 2000 that Local Government Super (LGS) decided it … Read more
Detailed due diligence, legal advice and regular international meetings have all been cited as part of the extra workload for those investing in hedge funds, the seventh Conexus Financial Absolute Returns Conference heard. Case studies provided by Sunsuper and Victorian Funds Management Corporation at the conference in Melbourne, also emphasised hedge funds’ key role as … Read more
The pre-global financial crisis notion of strategic asset allocation (SAA) and asset liability management studies contained a more static element and trustees considered portfolio suitability based on triennial reviews. Since the crisis, superannuation funds have been moving towards shorter term time frames and absolute return-based investing, traditionally the domain of hedge funds and multi-asset funds. … Read more
Members of the $1.5 billion industry superannuation fund, Club Plus Super, can now directly purchase term deposits, exchange-traded funds and shares via the fund’s new online investment and administration platform. For only $15 a month plus brokerage fees, members can invest in one, three, six and 12-month deposits and trade stocks on the S&P/ASX 300 … Read more
Negotiate harder and be prepared to walk away if you cannot agree a fair fee structure that meets your needs, Fiona Trafford-Walker of Frontier Advisors told delegates of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees Australian Superannuation Investment conference. She said the growing size of mandates was not being properly matched in lower fees. To make … Read more
Melbourne-based Vision Super has started a search for a permanent chief executive with a view to making an appointment by Christmas. Peter Rowe, who has served as acting chief executive since Rob Brooks left the role last year, will be interviewed and is keen on retaining the role. The Vision Super board has hired a … Read more
Financial Services Council chief economist, James Bond, said the unexpected drop in superannuation contributions in the June quarter could be attributed to a loss of investor confidence in the super system as well as “leakage” of employer contributions to the self-managed superannuation sector. According to the latest quarterly data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, … 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.
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.
