Super

Markets now move a lot faster than they did during the GFC, while expected and unexpected threats to them are emerging more often and in combination. How should super funds respond?

AMP has cut redundancy pay maximums and notice periods in a move that has left long-term employees dismayed after they stuck with the company through the royal commission and its aftermath.

With more and more money to invest every year, the megafunds think their future lies offshore. That leaves plenty of homegrown opportunities for the likes of the $32 billion Brighter Super.

Local biotech VC firm Brandon Capital has scored investments from a number of super funds and semi-sovereign investors as it looks to expand its international presence and its support for domestic startups.

Megafunds might be thought of as lumbering beasts of the ASX, but taking advantage of market dislocations means moving pretty quickly. “Size, scale and power” in manager relationships helps.

KPMG’s latest Super Insights report shows the future shape that the industry might take, with distinct cohorts of funds now emerging across size and service. But there’s little positive sentiment to be found about funds online.

While Australian Retirement Trust thinks massive scale makes offshore investing a must, not every fund wants to join the jet set, and UniSuper thinks there’s still plenty of opportunities to be had at home.

Active Super and Vision Super are now entering the home stretch of a drawn-out merger process that will create a new $29 billion fund with 170,000 member accounts.

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 $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.