Since Australian Retirement Trust’s inception, the industry has been waiting to see whether (or when) the now-$300 billion fund can draw level and overtake the nation’s largest player, the $335 billion AustralianSuper. With a boost to its AUM from the Qantas Super merger, ART could be one step closer to its ‘awakening’.
Ahead of her appearance at the Insurance in Super Summit on Tuesday, Australian Financial Complaints Authority lead superannuation ombudsman Heather Gray acknowledges that funds are “working hard” to increase resources and improve efficiency in responding to member queries. But with increasing political scrutiny around group insurance, funds need to go beyond “working hard” and actually come up with ways to better meet community expectations.
A mixed response to retirement income covenant obligations has prompted the regulators to urge super funds to move faster and move further. A new green paper proposes an approach that would leave the retirement income field open only to those funds that really want to provide a high standard offering.
While its financial year return is at the lower end of big funds, the Hostplus Balanced investment option still leads the pack when it comes to 10-year performance among growth-tilted funds, according to analysis by research houses SuperRatings and Chant West.
Equip Super has posted a 9.23 per cent return for its balanced growth option in FY24, while the MySuper option delivered a 9.24 per cent return.
Despite a slowdown in private equity transactions and some challenges in exiting funds, liquidity from recent mergers has given the $32 billion Brighter Super plenty of confidence to build out the asset class allocation to around 5 per cent of the portfolio.
Delays in the passage of legislation and the finalisation of accounting standards, and the recent precedent of new rules being added without industry consultation in other policy areas, add strength to the argument that the climate reporting regime ought to be delayed further so the companies and those that invest in them have certainty.
APRA has imposed additional licence conditions on Fiducian Portfolio Services to address data-related concerns ahead of this year’s Your Future Your Super performance test.
The $30 billion Spirit Super has completed the transition to use J.P. Morgan as its custody and fund administration services provider.
TelstraSuper has backed Quinbrook’s new infrastructure fund supporting the transition to renewable energy.
HESTA head of portfolio design Dianne Sandoval says the $83 billion health industry fund realised as far back as 2017 that adopting a total portfolio approach is the best way to exploit its competitive advantage and generate outperformance. As investment dynamics change, Sandoval says integrating genuine diversification and ample liquidity into the approach has never been more essential.
Natural capital is receiving unprecedented interest as asset owners turn their attention to net zero, but investment teams face challenges when they seek to understand how to apply portfolio-wide principles to a subject that is notoriously complicated and regionally nuanced, writes JANA’s Renee Grogan.
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.
