Superannuation funds such as Hostplus and First State Super can be considered trailblazers among their peers in the way they are investing in early-stage start-up companies.
Cherie Marriott
Australia’s plodding superannuation funds have begun investing into start-up firms to gain outsized returns. It’s risky, but potentially rewarding.
The country's smaller superannuation funds are under pressure to merge to gain critical mass, but doing so is no easy process.
As many as two-thirds of not-for-profit superannuation funds in Australia may lack the scale to survive a proposed overhaul of the system. But some in the industry question the plan.
Superannuation funds are seeking the inclusion of more financing layers, notably mezzanine debt, in infrastructure investment deals, say sources.
With steady yield hard to come by, superannuation funds are taking bold steps to satisfy their thirst for infrastructure, such as by making unsolicited proposals for regulated assets.
Eight in 10 institutional investors in Asia Pacific expect 8%-plus returns from infrastructure, though they are seen to be looking to the asset class more for income than capital gains.
New Zealand’s $21 billion state pension fund has been trimming positions in recent months, as it sees more threats than opportunities in the markets.
Matt Whineray, chief investment officer, New Zealand Superannuation Fund
The country’s superannuation funds have not tended to be big investors in hedge funds, but the likes of HostPlus and Rest Super are looking to increase their allocations.
Australian Ethical Investment cuts its US exposure by 27% on a hunch that improved manufacturing conditions and positive cargo movements in Europe and Japan will reap returns.
Dan Vanden Boom has left Morgan Stanley to join the infrastructure asset manager in Australia, as his boss Eddy Schipper starts gathering assets in Asia.
