Australian sovereign wealth fund Future Fund has returned 8.3 per cent in the financial year to date, adding $17.2 billion during the period and taking the overall assets under management to a record $223.4 billion.
Andrew Whittaker, portfolio protection strategist in QIC’s $65 billion investment team, thinks the market outlook is rich with opportunities despite the high-volatility environment becoming somewhat of a norm. As the fund shifts gears to lean towards a total portfolio approach, it is looking for more flexibility and better outcomes beyond just optimised sub-portfolios.
As more statistics emerge about the drop in insurance in superannuation as a result of recent legislative changes, shortcomings in the regime are becoming clearer. Critics say it’s overdue for an overhaul, focusing on claims processing; cover which encourages people to recover from illness or injury, where they can, and get back to work; and more standard terms of coverage which meet broader community expectations.
Sydney-headquartered First Sentier Investors will hand back around $14 billion to a dozen local institutional clients after shedding four investment capabilities in its Australian asset management team.
Australia’s retirement age has increased four years between 2000 and 2020, which was the 12th biggest increase in all OECD countries, according to study from Age Calculator.
The median growth super fund has returned 8.8 per cent in the 2024 financial year so far with one more quarter ahead, according to research house Chant West.
Aware Real Estate has launched large-scale housing development at Queens Road, in Melbourne’s inner south, and Preston in the city’s north, with the aim to add more than 700 homes to the city’s housing market.
Asset consultant JANA has appointed Habib Chebli as director of client development, based in Melbourne.
The $130 billion UniSuper is looking to cement itself as the “biggest and most reliable” player in the domestic real estate market following a flurry of industrial property acquisitions in the past 12 months. Not only is senior property manager Nick Stephens unfazed by UniSuper’s relative lack of global investment in unlisted assets, he is in fact glad that his peers are increasingly overlooking the Australian market.
The ESG-driven sections of the super industry are pushing for green investments to no longer be penalised under the Your Future Your Super test, as one fund calls out the “mismatch” between the federal government’s renewable energy agenda and the performance pressures funds are dealing with.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has appointed AustralianSuper’s Paula Benson, chief officer of strategy and corporate affairs as a board director.
Vanguard Super has publicly backed the retention of the annual performance test, as a growing number of funds also warm to the status quo after tweaking their strategic asset allocation to make sure they don’t fail. But while it may keep funds’ compliance officers happy, the current test is not in members’ best interests, argue a number of academics and researchers who advocate for a multi-metric approach.
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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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