Steve Merlicek

Rates, regulation and redistribution are all increasing. Are investors entering a new regime of higher inflation and volatility? What impact does this environment have on valuations, particularly as central banks reduce their influence? What investment style is most conducive to this market regime?

A capital allocator’s dilemma in a zero-yield world with higher inflation is how to construct a robust, balanced portfolio that can also withstand equity-market sell-offs.

Alternative strategies can be incredibly useful as a flexible tool to solve risk and return problems, but they are largely under utilised by asset owners in Australia. Alternative strategies form a key part of the Future Fund’s portfolio toolkit. This session examined how the use of hedge funds and alternative strategies has evolved over time for Australia’s sovereign wealth fund.

Market inefficiencies can erupt due to temporary supply and demand imbalances, regulation, information asymmetries and market psychology among other reasons. This session explored how to exploit these opportunities in a market-neutral manner.

Managing a portfolio during a bull run is easy. The challenge comes in protecting clients during severe market downturns. What does the design and implementation of portfolios that can withstand market surprises look like?

Prior to joining Blackstone, Joe Dowling led Brown University’s endowment fund, as chief executive and previously a chief investment officer. Over trailing three, five, and 10-year periods, Brown endowment is placed in the top ventile of its peers, according to data maintained by Cambridge Associates. This session drew on his experience to discuss the lessons learned for using hedge funds to enhance long-term risk-adjusted return.

As the role of bonds as a diversifier dwindles, what are the alternatives? This session looked at the replacements for bond strategies including volatility strategies, and the benefits and challenges associated with this path.

The Your Future Your Super (YFYS) reforms challenge the use of absolute return funds. In this exclusive keynote David Bell, executive director of The Conexus Institute, released new research on how funds can not only live with the YFYS performance test, but demonstrate a pathway forward which is consistent with asset owner best practice, namely total portfolio management.

The Your Future Your Super reforms have created challenges for absolute return funds. This session covered the impact from the suggested benchmarking to passive indices reforms and the unintended consequences. It looked at how industry is facing into these challenges and what the path ahead for the asset class looks like.

This session considers the challenges faced by the whole insurance industry, both locally and abroad. Further analysis will consider the role for international best practice, AI and behavioural economics in improving engagement.

• Is there an ongoing role for group insurance within superannuation?
• Can insurance ever move beyond being a grudge purchase?
• What innovations can we expect around products, experience and affordability?

A perennial challenge in making life insurance well understood and embraced by the public is the perceived gap between the promise and what is ultimately delivered when it comes time to claim. This session explores the gaps and how a more universal approach or innovations in terms can help to reduce complexity.

• How does group insurance sit alongside other worker compensation schemes?
• How do we make sure consumers understand the risks when part-time or unemployed?
• Would enforcing the voluntary code improve member outcomes?

In its role as prudential regulator for insurance and superannuation, APRA oversees both sides of the provision of group insurance in superannuation. Recently APRA released a letter critical of how insurers and super funds are working together. This session explores the regulatory framework for provision of group insurance in super, with respective specialists from the two APRA divisions. This session explores the overarching regulation of provision of group insurance in superannuation. It also explores the challenges of the current environment, particularly those associated with the stapling aspects of the Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) reforms.