The $87 billion HESTA is using artificial intelligence to enhance its multi-asset quant strategy, but said operating in the highly regulated Australian market means being able to explain how the fund arrived at investment conclusion via these models is almost as crucial as generating alpha.
Long-awaited proposed changes to the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code will see all ASX-listed minerals explorers and producers having to report more explicitly on how ESG factors are impacting/influencing their projects. It remains to be seen whether more detailed ESG reporting requirements will help the ASX’s very long list of junior explorers attract more capital from institutional investors.
Super fund REST has appointed Inese Kingsmill to its board of directors, replacing Sally Evans who retired in July 2024.
The nation’s largest super fund AustralianSuper has appointed Chandu Bhindi as its first chief liquidity officer.
The $37 billion State Super has been building up its exposure to Asian credits as chief investment officer Charles Wu says the sector is being slightly overlooked. With a 7 per cent net annual outflow, Wu says the fund has a natural bias towards yield instruments; it also means when it comes to managing investment risks, liquidity is more important than anything else in the portfolio.
ETF manager Betashares will have its work cut out after the fund it acquired to get a toehold in the super industry, Bendigo Super, was called out for underperformance by the prudential regulator.
ETF provider Global X has named Alex Zaika as its CEO, replacing Evan Metcalf who resigned last month.
Whether investors include China in emerging market exposures ultimately depends on risk tolerance and views on the outlook for the country. Northern Trust Asset Management deputy chief investment officer and chief investment officer of global equities Michael Hunstad says investors, particularly passive index investors, do not necessarily need to accept China’s weight in the index as a given, and there are options available for those who wish to make adjustments.
Selecting the right benchmark and tracking the toing and froing of countries within the index are essential tasks for emerging-market investors, and how countries are classified by index providers can make a big difference to returns – which means even passive investors face an active decision in choosinq which index to track.
Australian asset owners continue to see value in emerging market equities despite an extended disappointing run for the asset class, as they bet on growth and economic diversification to deliver longer-term returns. But the composition of indexes and capturing expected GDP growth of emerging economies remain challenges.
The competitive forces shaping mergers in the superannuation industry aren’t necessarily focused on quality, but rather, on the blunt metric of scale. Whether that’s good for members or not is debatable, but what’s not in question is that complex and often protracted transactions – such as the merger of TelstraSuper and Equip Super recently announced – need to be managed adroitly to get the best out of them, for everyone concerned.
A higher interest rate environment, increasing divergence among major central banks, and geopolitical uncertainty are some of the major risks that global top asset owners and managers are bracing for in coming years, the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Stanford University has heard.
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