A new report “from the coalface” of super fund investing has gone some way to quantifying the cost of shonky investment management, with members potentially losing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Surging equity markets have driven the Future Fund’s return higher, but its prediction that inflation will be stickier than expected has been born out and it “remains conscious of the potential for significant deterioration”.
Bernays launches investment ‘connections’ company
(Pictured: Ross Bernays)
Ross Bernays, the former chief executive of Health Industry Plan (HIP), which merged with Prime Super in May, has launched a funds management servicing company, Investment and Financial Services Logistics. The company will blend third-party marketing and events with placement agency offerings.
Bernays said that the service aimed to support investors, fund managers and other service providers to make better connections in both identifying investment opportunities and marketing products within Australia and overseas.
He said: “The establishment of this service offering in no way denigrates the institutional advice model supporting the Australian superannuation system. I have a great deal of respect for our asset consultants, and [the business] is designed to assist those organisations that do not know how best to access Australian investors, on the one hand, and for others, how to access overseas capital.”
In his 30-odd years of industry experience, he said, he had built up a wide network of contacts and it had become apparent to him that there were a good deal of quality investments that simply do not see the light of day. There was a lot pressure on portfolio construction to not only achieve greater diversification but to also enhance the mitigation of direct correlations with traditional markets to sustain long term growth with reduced volatility.
“There are some real gems out there that are flying under the radar. I am already speaking to some overseas managers with regard to accessing the Australian markets, as well as Australian investors seeking capital from overseas,” he said. “An added interest for me is that I will not be limited to dealing with just superannuation funds. I will also be focusing on SMSFs, family offices and dealer groups.”
