QIC is gearing up to expand its hedge fund allocation as – together with insurance exposure – the “strong double-digit return” of its liquid alternatives portfolio was a key contributor to the fund’s record $8.9 billion earnings in the 2024 financial year. Chief investment officer Allison Hill explains why global sovereign wealth funds are hot on hedge funds.
The International Monetary Fund has warned that “liquidity mismatches” are brewing within Australian super funds, as the UN finance agency expressed worries that members might be able to switch out of investment options with too much flexibility considering funds’ substantial investments in illiquid assets. But super industry leaders say the nation’s unique system is well-equipped to handle itself.
As one of the rare public-offer industry super funds with a considerable defined benefit component, Aware Super is keen to apply its investment and liabilities management skills to defined contribution assets in a post-Retirement Income Covenant world. Portfolio manager of retirement strategy Shang Wu unpacks the fund’s DB position.
Kiwi sovereign NZ Super has appointed two joint chief investment officers following the departure of previous CIO Stephen Gilmore who joined CalPERS earlier this year.
In the past two years, the Future Fund has made around $70 billion worth of changes in the portfolio that its director of research and insights, Craig Thorburn, said can be traced back to stubbornly high inflation. As the fund executes its bias toward “owning inflation”, asset allocation around currencies, alternatives and bonds are all looking different.
Gas giant APA Group is bracing for activist shareholder actions at its annual general meeting this week, as climate groups take issue with its plan to develop gas pipelines in the Beetaloo Basin. UniSuper is caught in the fight as a large shareholder of APA Group and the ruckus raises interesting questions about the role of gas in the portfolio.
A reference to American-style voluntary retirement plans by Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor has drawn a swift rebuke from defenders of compulsory super, but the Shadow Treasurer insists he is still a supporter of compulsory super, albeit for purposes other than just retirement savings.
REST has appointed two interim chief investment officers following the announcement that Andrew Lill, its CIO for the last five years, will depart the fund in November.
Australia is no longer the top retirement system in Asia Pacific – the first time that has happened since the Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index started tracking and ranking the competence of pension systems around the world. Mercer partner and lead author of the report, David Knox, said superannuation can do better in areas like providing retirement income projection and unisex annuity rates.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor has invoked the US 401(k) scheme in comments about the controversial ‘super for housing’ policy, raising eyebrows about a broader Coalition push for voluntary super. Though likely a throwaway line, Aleks Vickovich writes the reference may also signal aspirations of the party rank-and-file to overturn a landmark Labor achievement.
Cbus Super chief investment officer Brett Chatfield said the $94 billion fund has built a “small, long” position in Chinese equities, diverging from a generally bearish outlook among its asset owner peers about the world’s second largest economy.
Super funds had a strong September with the median growth fund (61 to 80% in growth assets) up 1.2 per cent for the month, according to Chant West.
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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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