ISN reaffirms commitment to unlisted assets

7 September 2010
| By By Mike Taylor |

The Industry Super Network (ISN) has reaffirmed its commitment to investing in unlisted assets despite the recent outperformance of retail master trusts.

The chief economist for the ISN, Sacha Vidler acknowledged that unlisted markets were less efficient but claimed good managers could deliver outperformance over time.

Addressing an Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) conference, he said unlisted investments represented a good defensible asset allocation offering reduced agency costs.

Vidler acknowledged that liquidity issues limited the degree to which super funds could allocate towards unlisted investments.

He said unlisted investments were not something that could be sold in a hurry especially where valuations and daily unit pricing was concerned.

Vidler said the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) was not wrong to be concerned about liquidity given the lessons that had been learned during the global financial crisis (GFC).

Responding to queries about the degree to which unlisted assets had devalued after the GFC, Vidler also stood by the valuation methods utilised by funds with respect to unlisted assets.

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...

1 day 23 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....

1 day 23 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 ago