Frontier

Minimum drawdowns aren’t meant to be a default, but plenty of members use them that way. Frontier Advisors wants funds to pay them a “retirement wage” instead.

Fundies are getting with the internal management program but they don’t necessarily like it, according to new data from Frontier Advisors. Especially with a new army of gatekeepers arrayed before them.

As super funds internalise more and more of their investment management, they’re taking on more and more risk. Many of them still lack a plan to deal with it.

Big funds are looking for help with investment governance as they internalise more and more of their resources, according to JANA, and it’s also seeing a lot more demand for guidance on net zero objectives.

The asset consultant has rounded out its real assets and private markets research with two new appointments as both areas grow in importance to the institutional investors it services.

Australian super funds and asset managers shouldn’t ape their international peers when it comes to unlisted investment practice, according to Frontier, and demand for more frequent valuations will ultimately be worn by members.

The $70 billion super fund has appointed WTW as asset consultant to its board and board investment committee as it internalises a substantial chunk of its funds under management.

Private markets were the main driver of superannuation fund performance for 2022, according to Frontier, but only a few of this year’s top 10 funds feature in the league tables over the last decade. And the YFYS test is still creating anomalous outcomes.

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”.