The Future Fund and QIC have acquired an interest in the EastLink toll road network sold by New Zealand Superannuation Fund and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, advised by its investment advisor Nuveen Infrastructure.
Health industry fund HESTA has appointed Alissa Knight to the newly created role of general manager strategic planning, effective from 11 June.
The Federal Court found that Active Super has made misleading claims about ESG and Russian investments in its website, reports and disclosure documents, in a case brought forward by ASIC amid the regulator’s increasing focus on greenwashing.
APRA has fined Equity Trustees $782,500 for failing to meet its legal obligations to report data to the regulator.
While the odds still favour a Labor victory at the next election, the Coalition’s desire to tap into the superannuation honey pot as part of its election policies is now very clear. The prospect of politics one day overriding the lofty ideals of the Objective of Superannuation legislation to preserve super fund savings until retirement now looks increasingly likely – if not in the short-term but sometime down the track.
For the past two years the correlation between bonds and equities has been positive, counter to the long-term assumed relationship between the asset classes. The challenges for asset owners include determining whether the change is transient or long-term, and what it means for portfolio construction.
More than two in three Australians aged 65 and over said they were unwilling to compromise their retirement lifestyle to provide financial assistance for their children, according to a AMP research.
The Super Members Council has appointed business leader Ann Sherry as its chair, replacing interim chair Nicola Roxon who will continue to serve on the SMC board as a nominee of HESTA.
Health industry fund HESTA said its members are increasingly adopting digital tools for retirement planning purposes.
The global head of sustainable investing at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, Anna Murray, said she had finally come to terms with the anti-ESG sentiment in certain markets. In a panel alongside asset managers Ninety One and BNP Paribas, she told the Fiduciary Investors Symposium in Toronto, Canada, that it’s time to rethink the ESG label and instead think about it as an integral part of the fiduciary duty.
Super funds are deviating from their original mission as “guardians of pension” and are starting to look and sound worryingly like asset managers, according to industry veteran and former Lazard Australia CEO Rob Prugue. As Australia’s retirement savings pool continues to balloon, he asked whether the sector’s immense scale has created a moral hazard.
Promoting gender diversity is a big issue for asset owners and despite the progress made so far, many investment teams are still characterised by finance stereotypes that can deter more diverse candidates from joining the sector. But as a starting point for those looking to bring genuine change – be it internally or in the broader industry – the Fiduciary Investors Symposium has heard that difficult conversations must be had about how to eliminate “micro-exclusionary” events and recognise men and women’s different ways of working.
The investment intelligence behind Australia’s largest asset owners and their teams
In-depth interviews with leaders, experts and visionaries in the institutional investment community
Updates on the latest industry policy developments and regulation
The challenges and innovations of custody, technology and operational due diligence
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.
