News

The $160 billion industry fund has found a new head for its $90 billion public equities portfolio in an alumnus of passive investing giants like Vanguard and BlackRock. It’s also pulled the trigger on promotions in the public equities team.

It’s a narrow path to a Goldilocks financial environment with steep drops on either side. Should markets tumble off the edge, big investors could cast their eyes back over macro hedge funds, long-short strategies and gold.

Biodiversity is under rising threat around the world, with potentially disastrous economic and social consequences, while water-related risks are likely to strain insurers and government budgets.

The $13 billion Mine Super might have had Chant West’s top performing growth option for the calendar year, but CIO Seamus Collins questions whether many default growth products are doing enough for young members who are “temporally diversified”.

Wealth management firm Alteris has selected JANA as its new investment consultant, bringing its assets under advice in the wealth space to more than $10 billion as it looks beyond its traditional client base for growth.

The CIO of the $10 billion Australian Ethical wants to triple its funds under management by 2030. Getting on that growth trajectory could mean offshore partnerships or acquisitions to augment its in-house investment capabilities.

The asset consultant’s strategy of shopping its services to the demanding not-for-profit sector is paying off, with Uniting Financial Services retaining it for portfolio construction, manager research and ESG advice.

The world’s largest asset manager has picked up Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in a move that will give it greater access to the fastest-growing segment of the private markets and define “the next 20 years” of its business.

Geopolitical tension, US electoral uncertainty and a commercial real estate crash loom as the fastest-rising risks for the financial services industry next year, according to the latest industry poll by securities post-trade giant, DTCC.

Incoming populist leaders unleashing “incoherent” policies could shake markets, according to Colonial First State CIO Jonathan Armitage, while investors with dry powder on hand stand to win big as distressed selling takes hold in private equity and infrastructure.

A rally in risk in the waning months of 2023 has pushed super fund returns into strongly positive territory, but some funds don’t want to count their chickens before they hatch.

There were 3000 super funds in 1981. But when Russell Mason retires after 42 years of trust deeds and time sheets, the world he worked in as a trusted adviser and governance expert will have only about 70 funds left.