The Coalition’s plan to let Australians access their superannuation for a house deposit would create a “budget blackhole”, according to modelling commissioned by the Super Members Council.
The big technology companies are probably good companies, but the disconnect is in their valuations. For Pzena Investment Management, it’s 2000 all over again.
Australia’s private debt space might be booming, but a large number of new and established managers are operating in an increasingly crowded space according to Causeway Financial.
The $26 billion TelstraSuper has become the latest corporate super fund to weigh its merger options in the face of increasing competition and scale issues in the rapidly consolidating industry.
The $13 billion Mine Super is headed for a merger with TWUSUPER that will diversify both funds’ member bases into new sectors, plug gaps in their portfolios and prepare it for a world where bigger is (allegedly) better.
To deliver for its highly engaged member base, UniSuper must walk a fine line between investing responsibly for their future and meeting their demands around climate change in the here and now.
First Sentier’s decision to close a number of strategies and pivot towards private markets handily illustrates the pressures facing the Australian funds management scene – and the new period of competition into which it is now entering.
Few would disagree that a strong regulator is required for a strong superannuation system. But APRA’s myopic focus on cost to members means its $70,000 Christmas party is unlikely to help its reputation.
Private credit has seen huge inflows in recent years, but contrary to the claims made by some of its advocates it’s not a defensive asset class or a substitute for investment grade corporate and sovereign bonds.
Everybody and their dog has an idea for putting the Future Fund to work beyond its core mandate.
But the best idea for getting it to invest more in Australia’s economy is probably already being done.
Varun Laijawalla from Ninety One shares insights with James Dunn from The Inside Network on what investors are suited to emerging markets.
Alex Lennard from Ruffer shares insights with Laurence Parker-Brown from The Inside Network on whether the previous strategies will continue well in a new regime.
Wenchang Ma from Ninety One shares insights with James Dunn from The Inside Network on any substitute for going out and meeting companies on the road.
Alison Shimada from Allspring Global Investments speaks to Giselle Roux from The Inside Network on responsible investing in EM.
Hostplus’ young demographics and the mandatory nature of superannuation means it gets “a free kick before every game”. But CIO Sam Sicilia says funds must keep questioning the assumptions that underpin the superannuation system and their relationship to it.
Australia’s largest homegrown asset consultant is plotting an expansion further beyond its traditional superannuation clients, while consolidation in the industry is changing the way they work.
Systemic risk in the superannuation system likely doesn’t stem from funds themselves, but from their service provider relationships. Regulators need to be thinking harder about where and how it arises – something they’re not necessarily well set up to do.
Big asset owners and managers are embracing the private markets as one avenue for growth, but the complexity that brings to portfolios means they also need to get a better view of what might be decades of siloed information.
