Australian pension funds are going against the grain of pension funds in other countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by holding a higher percentage of equities with low exposure to bonds.
The OECD’s Pension Markets in Focus report found that Australia (like the United States, Chile and Finland) has between 40 and 50 per cent of its pension fund assets in equities, while the majority of other OECD countries appear to favour bonds.
The report also showed pension funds posting a positive net return on investment of 2.7 in 2010, as they slowly climbed back to pre-global financial crisis levels.
While Australia performed above average, it did not make the cut of the top pension fund performers, with New Zealand (10.3 per cent), Chile (10 per cent), Finland (8.9 per cent) and Canada (8.5 per cent) taking the top spots.
Governor Bullock took a more hawkish stance on Tuesday, raising concerns over Trump’s escalating tariffs, which sent economists in different directions with their predictions.
Equity Trustees has announced the appointment of Jocelyn Furlan to the Superannuation Limited (ETSL) and HTFS Nominees Pty Ltd (HTFS) boards, which have oversight of one of the companies’ fastest growing trustee services.
Following growing criticism of the superannuation industry’s influence on capital markets and its increasing exposure to private assets, as well as regulators’ concerns about potential risks to financial stability, ASFA has released new research pushing back on these narratives.
A US-based infrastructure specialist has welcomed the $93 billion fund as a cornerstone investor.