The chief investment officers of BlackRock and Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia are among 16 who are more pessimistic about markets than they were a year ago and are particularly concerned about China and Europe, according to a Financial Services Council survey of CIOs.
IFM hires Neil Carter for new $1 billion fund
Industry Funds Management, the $30 billion fund manager owned by 32 not-for-profit superannuation funds, has hired three people from Macquarie Group to raise as much as $1 billion for a fund to invest in companies outside the ASX/S&P 100 Index. Eight Investment Partners is launching funds
Eight Investment Partners, the Asian fund management unit of South Africa’s Sanlam Group, is seeking to have seven portfolios by next year as it seeks to grow funds under management by almost 50 percent.
Super Size Me – Investment Success at Scale
The investment firepower and cost savings promised by economies of scale have enraptured the Australian superannuation industry. This has instilled in some funds an urge to merge in order to enjoy the benefits of being large. However, some investment chiefs believe that bigger size brings a new set of problems that can undermine performance. SIMON MUMME reports.
For sale: 12% super
In November 2010, Andrea Forbes, senior policy adviser to Bill Shorten, told attendees at an industry roundtable in Canberra that the argument to boost the Superannuation Guarantee (SG) to 12 per cent needed broader media coverage. She wanted coverage of the policy push to extend beyond the trade and financial press to metropolitan dailies with broader readerships. Her intention was clear: the Minister for Financial Services Superannuation wants the debate heard by all Australians. On October 17, Shorten featured in a policy roundtable convened by Conexus Financial, publisher of Investment Magazine, in which consumer advocacy, economics and investment professionals debated whether the boost to 12 per cent SG will benefit working Australians. It was covered by 7.30 that night.
Funds embrace investment short-termism
An MSCI global asset owners survey covering more than $US 5.5 trillion in assets under management shows funds are taking an increasingly short-term focus and putting a greater emphasis on risk management. The 2011 Global Asset Owners Survey, Back to the Future of Risk Management, which includes 85 participants in 26 countries, also reveals Australian asset owners have substantially higher levels of external management and more funds allocated to equities than asset owners from other countries.
Australia falls short of pension gold
Australia is capable of achieving the elusive A-grading in the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, according to its author, David Knox, if the country adopts a number of regulatory reforms. Knox, who is senior partner at Mercer, says the biggest reform that will improve Australia’s ranking will be an increase in the superannuation guarantee. This will have the effect of increasing retirement income, as well as the value of assets in the system, and so improving sustainability. If Australia combines this with increased labour force participation, and introduces some “integrity measures”, it would be “pretty close to A-grade”, Knox says. He says Australian superannuation fund member statements show what a member’s account balance currently is, but not what it is projected to be when the member retires.
Altius wins $150 million mandate
Altius Asset Management, one of Australian Unity’s boutique funds, will double its funds under management to $300 million with a mandate from an institutional investor.
Colonial First State adds to emerging markets team
Colonial First State Global Asset Management has hired three people to manage emerging markets debt investments and may hire more people to focus on the world’s fastest growing economies.
Dean Paatsch talks executive pay
Dean Paatsch, co-founder of corporate governance firm Ownership Matters, talks about executive pay in Australia with Brett Cole.
Jane Perry is new Qantas Super CEO
Jane Perry is the new chief executive of Qantas Superannuation Ltd. 
