Jun Bei Liu and Jason Todd want to shoot the lights out with their newly-launched long-short hedge fund, but they also want to explore new distribution models and client segments as they strike out on their own.
Super funds will soon be subject to mandatory service standards aimed at improving member experience following a series of administration failures at funds like Cbus and AustralianSuper.
Cbus hits $100 billion after a tumultuous year
Cbus has revealed a calendar year return of 10.77 per cent for its MySuper option and 13.78 per cent in its high growth product. Those returns have seen the fund hit $100 billion in assets for the first time, a “significant milestone” that makes Cbus one of the largest funds in Australia.
Cbus announced the milestone and returns as Nvidia – a key contributor to those returns – saw nearly a trillion dollars wiped from its valuation by investor anxiety about DeepSeek, a Chinese large language model that rivals more established offerings like ChatGPT for speed and accuracy despite using significantly fewer chips. Cbus CIO Bret Chatfield said in a release that he remained “constructive on the outlook for equities” and that the fund retained a moderate overweight position in them (Cbus was contacted for an interview but declined).
“While valuations are elevated in certain markets, which has tempered our overall position somewhat, we remain positive on the growth outlook and are expressing some of the exposure via emerging markets,” Chatfield said. “Emerging markets should benefit from an improvement in global growth and also have reasonably attractive valuations. We also expect private markets generally to perform well this year, and we believe there has been a stabilising in commercial real estate and remain confident in the long-term outlook.”
Chatfield is also keeping a close eye on the US, where Trump’s policy agenda will “likely impact the economy and markets”. It remains unclear by how much, but Chatfield said that if some proposed policies were enacted in full – particularly those around tariffs and large-scale deportations – they would “pose risks to both growth and inflation”.
“However, as in Trump’s first term, it’s likely that some of the commentary is dialled back and open to negotiation,” Chatfield said. “In that case, negative growth effects could be offset by the positive impact of tax cuts and deregulation. Nevertheless, if growth remains strong, pressure will still remain on inflation and interest rates, and the potential for ‘higher-for-longer’ US interest rates is likely to be a key factor for markets over the next 12-18 months.”
Chatfield also singled out “solid contributions” from global credit and infrastructure investments and said that the fund will continue to deploy capital in a discerning manner.
“There will continue to be an emphasis on diversifying the portfolio geographically and to complement existing strong exposure to assets with core risk profiles by continuing to sensibly introduce core-plus and value-add exposures. In addition to deployment, Cbus will continue to assess the portfolio and rationalise exposures in-line with strategy and to maximise overall return outcomes for members.”
The growth to $100 billion has come with a significant expansion of the fund’s investment capabilities – and headcount. As Chatfield told the Don’t Get Fired podcast in September, Cbus’ front office investment capability has grown from 15 personnel to more than a hundred since 2016. Over the past year, it’s seen a slew of investment appointments over the past year, with Leigh Gavin joining as head of portfolio strategies, industry veteran Justin Pascoe as head of portfolio construction, and the promotion of Jordan Krait to head of private markets and infrastructure and the appointment of property expert Nikki Panagopoulos.
Cbus also saw a number of notable departures in 2024, including deputy CIO Alexandra Campbell, chief strategy officer Alexandra West and chief risk officer Wade Martin.
The $100 billion milestone is a silver lining following a tough year for the construction industry fund, which found itself dragged into corruption allegations levelled at the CFMEU as well as a court case launched by ASIC for alleged failures to process death and total permanent disability benefit claims within reasonable timeframes.
