The Coalition has pledged to give young Australians access to up to $50,000 in their retirement savings to get a toehold in the housing market. Super funds say it will only further inflate property prices.
Listed property, which found investor favour in 2024, is better positioned to weather market volatility with institutions eyeing improving valuations and development opportunities. For overseas players, a weaker Australian dollar is a bonus.
Cbus nabs former AustralianSuper equities boss
Former AustralianSuper head of equities and VFMC CIO Justin Pascoe will join the $85 billion Cbus as its new head of portfolio construction.
Pascoe will have oversight of the fund’s asset allocation, execution and investment options, and will also be a “key member” of the fund’s investment leadership team.
“Securing high quality, experienced professionals in portfolio construction is key to maintaining Cbus Super’s strong long-term returns,” said Cbus CIO Brett Chatfield. “Since our inception in 1984, we’ve delivered an average annual return of 8.87 per cent for the Growth(MySuper) option.
“Justin’s skills and experience are outstanding and he will bring an unparalleled senior level of expertise that will ensure we continue to deliver the best possible returns to our members.”
“We are particularly impressed with Justin’s deep expertise across asset allocation, asset class strategies and derivatives. Justin is a seasoned and high calibre investor who will bring extensive experience and insight to the Cbus team”.
Pascoe has also held roles at State Street Global Advisors, Goldman Sachs and Jardine Fleming. He left AustralianSuper amidst a sweeping investment team restructure that saw Australian equities become a standalone function and international equities and private equity combined into one group. He’s not the first AustralianSuper investment hand to wind up at Cbus, with associate portfolio managers Juan Dosio and Matthew Moore heading to the construction industry fund as AustralianSuper slashed the headcount in its local global equities team in favour of an international presence.
Pascoe’s appointment follows a slew of recent departures at Cbus, including deputy CIO Alexandra Campbell, chief strategy officer Alexandra West, chief risk officer Wade Martin and head of total portfolio management Mark Ferguson.
