Frontier

Frontier has added to its capital markets capability with a new appointment, while a member of its PhD internship program will be joining the firm in a permanent role.

Much of the work Willis Towers Watson does for Australia’s largest allocators is now around investment governance. But the tyranny of distance means the local scene can be a bit of an “echo chamber”.

Big super funds are getting even bigger. But as consolidation continues – and stapling kicks in – they’ve got a new problem that can’t easily be overcome: they’re more alike than different.

As the Albanese Government looks to use super funds to kickstart Australian infrastructure growth, the number of obstacles arrayed against investing in affordable housing and venture capital might give them pause for thought.

If reducing the number of funds was its goal, Your Future Your Super has been a wild success. But as an indicator of performance, it leaves a lot to be desired.

Some of super’s best performers this year are also its smallest, and new research from Frontier finds that asset allocation is more influential than size and scale when it comes to generating alpha.

Until now, Japanese funds have largely been bond and cash investors. As they expand into real assets, Frontier wants to own that consulting niche.

As the super funds race towards massive size, the sector is still grappling with the positives and negatives for investments and culture.

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that equity market returns are likely to be muted going forward. But salvation might arrive in the form of domestic activist strategies. “From a timing perspective, we think the forward-looking environment presents a much more challenging return outlook for equity investors given the extended low interest rate and bull market…

Your Future Your Super (YFYS) is meant to improve member outcomes. But Frontier’s latest research suggests that the performance test is in dire need of tweaking if it’s to fulfil that goal. Frontier’s latest research – “The heat is on – superannuation fund performance in 2021” – aims to answer the question of whether the…