Super

Minimum drawdowns aren’t meant to be a default, but plenty of members use them that way. Frontier Advisors wants funds to pay them a “retirement wage” instead.

Fundies are getting with the internal management program but they don’t necessarily like it, according to new data from Frontier Advisors. Especially with a new army of gatekeepers arrayed before them.

First Super inhabits a world of giants, but it’s not considering a merger and it’s not sweating its size. That doesn’t mean it’s not “chronically anxious” about performance and costs.

As the fund contemplates managing $700 billion by 2030 it’s looking for new ways to invest with a global portfolio mindset and chase hot assets in local markets to drive value creation for its members.

The way super funds make money for their members is going to have to change, according to Colonial First State chief investment officer Jonathan Armitage. But retail funds might prove to have a natural advantage as the whole system shifts into a new gear.

The prudential regulator wants to publish more granular details of how funds spend and invest their members’ money in an initiative it hopes will improve transparency in the $3.5 trillion super sector.

The $160 billion fund says that its essential worker housing program stacks up as an investment for both its members and the country’s future. But current policy settings mean few funds can follow its example.

A coalition of domestic and international pension funds has bought one of Australia’s largest private forest management companies in a big vote of confidence for natural capital assets.

Forestry has investment features that dovetail with the long-term strategies of super funds, according to Atchison Consultants, but the asset class has been ignored in favour of more traditional allocations .

While internal investment teams have generally delivered good outcomes there is little independent review or direct public scrutiny of their performance compared to external managers, according to Frontier Advisors.

The merger between ISA and AIST has created a new organisation that will court both sides of politics to “advocate for the interests” of more than 10 million Australians.

More regulatory pressure on valuation practices means big funds run the risk of missing out on attractive deals and members could face higher costs. But with Australia now at the forefront of defined contribution pensions globally, should GPs get with the program?