Australian Retirement Trust

After announcing his departure from the role, Australian Retirement Trust chief Bernard Reilly tells ISN why the fund “hasn’t missed a beat” since the merger that created it and how the arrival of the megafunds heralds a new era of “co-opetition” in the super industry.

Valuations are never going to be “perfect”, but that doesn’t mean super funds shouldn’t be working harder to make them more accurate – and more intelligible to the people who really matter.

The megafund is expanding its sustainable investment team as it adopts a new climate change strategy and fields increased interest in its approach from new corners.

Australia’s second-largest super fund just got a little bit larger with a big win from the corporate fund strategy one of its predecessor funds embarked on almost six years ago.

Riding the equity market rally and significant diversification in its alternatives portfolio has delivered Australian Retirement Trust a 10 per cent return as it keeps both eyes on the end of the rate cycle.

Big funds can be cheaper and drive hard bargains in the private markets – but it’s easier to see them coming and harder for them to get money where it needs to go.

AustralianSuper’s appointment of a new deputy CIO with the lion’s share of responsibility for its overseas investments demonstrates the growing importance of international diversification for the country’s biggest funds.

Australian Retirement Trust has warned that introducing more granularity into the YFYS test might only confuse members and that funds will incur greater transaction costs as new benchmarks are added to it.

The last 12 months have been challenging for Australian Retirement Trust, but the amount of noise in the market has been “quite productive”. It’s also shown that when it comes to unlisted assets, price is more volatile than value.

Competition in super is heating up but it’s not yet come to the boil. Mergers, member retention and retirement are all shaping up as key battlegrounds for funds.