Analysis

While big super is all in on its newly-acquired nation building goals, a hint of caution about member outcomes pervaded last week’s AIST Superannuation Investment conference.

Nobody has a crystal ball, but you don’t need one to know that things could be more difficult from here on out. For some funds, it’s back to “investing 101.”

We’re now living through the end of a three or four decade long secular trend, and the strategies that have worked for super funds might no longer be as effective. But that’s what makes the job fun.

Some within the sector believe the super wars are over and that industry funds have emerged victorious. But they shouldn’t take their primacy, or the change in government, for granted.

As the fog of uncertainty creeps back in, Australia’s biggest investors are uncertain about where the next risk will emerge. It’s time to think about the unthinkable.

The Your Future Your Super (YFYS) performance test will likely harm ESG outcomes, but funds are increasingly considering impact as a sustainable investment weapon of choice.

Half-way through the MAX and Investment Leadership awards for 2022, the audience was silenced by researcher and co-organiser Alex Dunnin. He said: ‘Life has caught up with us.” His forecasts were chilling.

A significant chunk of global financial markets is at risk in a carbon constrained future. But while recent events have diverted attention from the transition, sustainability shouldn’t be on the backburner.

Hostplus is navigating the current market upheaval – and a murky future – by pumping more money into unlisted assets. But despite a gloomy outlook, the “innovation genie” isn’t going anywhere.

Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) is the ultimate blunt instrument, and super will be glad to see it tweaked. But perhaps the bigger debate is around the future use of another blunt instrument: exclusion.

In the past, institutional investors have been accused of being too trigger happy when it comes to manager underperformance. But a new study has found they actually find it hard to let go.

The conventional view of emerging markets is that they represent a growth strategy and are prone to short-term fluctuations. A focus on the majority of stocks which pay dividends challenges that view.