Opening up early access to super for housing would have a negative effect on the balances of even those members that don’t dig into their savings, with funds forced to adopt more conservative investment strategies and hold more liquid assets.
The circa $88 billion industry fund for workers in health and community services reckons that alleviating the affordable housing crisis will boost its other investments by easing the cost of living and inflation.
HSBC’s new recipe for super growth
The educational partnership will see HSBC deliver education and guidance to the superannuation funds that comprise the AIST’s membership at conferences and on a more individual basis.
“The opportunity presented itself from AIST in mid-2022, and it was a perfect opportunity for us to build our profile within the superannuation industry,” Nick Wheeler (picture at top), head of markets and securities services for HSBC in Australia and New Zealand, told ISN. “It’s an area where we’re looking to grow, and we think we can provide some really good insights to AIST’s members on both local and global issues going forward. We’re looking forward to building a long-term partnership with them.”
“It aligns perfectly with our timing, and growth strategy and ambitions in the local market. And it aligns with what the superannuation industry is doing – they’re seeing record inflows, over $100 billion of inflows in 2022 – and how do they continue to diversify their investments, and they’re starting to grow more offshore, which we see as a natural strategic fit for where HSBC can provide those insights, access and opportunities.”
HSBC is looking to increase its business with Australian super funds across custody, FX, real assets and asset management. HSBC is currently ranked seventh on the ACSA league tables for Australian assets under custody, but is the largest sub-custodian in Australia, with over AU$1.6 trillion of assets under custody.
“I think we can provide insights and expertise into local and global markets, whether it’s access to liquidity, innovative solutions – a classic example would be something like FX overlay. It’s probably not well known here, but HSBC is a top three provider on a global basis… We’re got a hub in every global centre, and we see the Australian pension funds, as they start to invest more globally, as an opportunity where we can really provide that service to them as well.”
“We’ve been in Australia for a long period of time, but this deal provides us a unique platform to speak to members on a more direct basis. Whether it be through conferences, directly through updates and insights on a more timely basis. It provides us access from the c-suite level within those organisations down to operational support as well. That’s something that’s really unique that will help us accelerate our growth ambitions.”
