Investment approach and expectation dislink

18 August 2015
| By Jassmyn |
image
image
expand image

Aussies seem to have a conservative approach when it comes to super investment strategy but they are in investing in aggressive strategies, according to a survey.

The "Australian Retirement Vision Survey" by State Street Global Advisors (SSGA), and Rice Warner found 68.8 per cent of Australians prefer to take a conservative approach to their super investment strategy, with a focus on dividends rather than long-term growth.

SSGA chief investment officer for investment solutions, Dan Farley, said the respondents showed a disconnect between investor expectation and how they self-selected their investments.

"It does point out the need for advisers to think about how to educate the investor on what they need to do for their portfolio. The risk they say they are conservative yet they invest in things that are more aggressive," Farley told Super Review.

"When we look at the desired outcomes from an income perspective when you look at that relative to a more conservative investment mix, we think they're going to be more challenged to meet those goals."

The report found 60 per cent of the respondents expected their current standard of living to remain the same after they retire. However, 40 per cent were not confident that they will meet their target level of wealth for retirement or that their super will be sufficient to fund their retirement.

When the data was broken down further, the Generation Y respondents were the most optimistic with nearly one-third believing their standard of living in retirement would be better than now.

SSGA's head of portfolio strategists for Asia Pacific, Jonathan Shead, said "if you then look at what people associate their expectations for income are those numbers are pretty high compared to their modest and comfortable income levels."

"People are thinking income levels are quite high and their standards of living are quite high. There's a bit of dislink with reality," Shead said.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

11 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

11 months 1 week ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

11 months 1 week ago

Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Co...

2 days 14 hours ago

Demand from institutional investors was the main driver of growth in Australia’s responsible investment (RI) market in 2023, as the industry continued to gain momentum....

2 days 14 hours ago

In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges....

2 days 15 hours ago