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
AustralianSuper has declared bullish growth projections for its direct investment option (DIO) from 12,500 to 50,000 members as its retirement membership grows. The platform, which gives members the freedom of a self-managed super fund in an insured setting, currently manages $700 million for 12,500 members, who hold a further $900 million with the main fund. … Read more
Four prominent super fund executives at the AIST Australian Superannuation Investment conference on the Gold Coast discussed best practice and what is allowable on investment committees. One common insight was investment committees making decisions without talking to asset consultants. Each executive gave a candid explanation of their fund’s policies, the key points of which are … Read more
VicSuper is introducing a stress-testing system for its assets that will help manage risk on idiosyncratic allocations, such as its recent tailored fixed-income portfolio. Last year the fund moved from a passive index allocation to a tailored, global fixed income index, created with index provider, Barclays, and its principal fixed income manager, BlackRock, to reflect … 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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