REI Super builds wall of cash

5 February 2013
| By Staff |
image
image
expand image

REI Super has been building up its cash holdings and selling off equities, according to its investment consultant. 

Ibbotson Associates managing director and chief investment officer, Daniel Needham, said the fund had continued to sell its exposure to equities and assets that had done well in December. 

"We've stopped selling bonds because bonds are no longer moving up in price, they're moving down, but what we're doing is building extra cash," he said.  

Needham said that although some thought it was a time for investors to be aggressive, the consultant was taking a cautious approach. 

As other asset classes started to look less attractive, the fund was holding "higher than normal amounts of cash", Needham said, and if the market environment continued, it would continue to sell better-returning assets and build up cash. 

"Our goal is always to buy assets at attractive prices, and that tends to be at times when most people are very concerned about markets - and that certainly isn't the case now," he said. 

Prices would fluctuate a lot, so patient long-term investors would be able to buy assets at more attractive prices in the future, according to Needham. 

He said REI had also invested into Australian commercial property and unhedged assets for their defensive characteristics. 

Within equities, REI had invested into global listed infrastructure, because cash flows were less sensitive to the economic cycle and they were well priced.

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. ...

1 year 2 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

1 year 2 months 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 ...

1 year 2 months ago

 What is CSC and how does its investment strategy stand out?Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) is a retirement benefits provider for members of the Austra...

1 day ago

What were the key factors that influenced your fund's performance in 2024, and how did market conditions impact your investment strategy?UniSuper’s Balanced (default) opt...

1 day 1 hour ago

APRA has announced eight proposals aimed at pushing entities, including super funds, to move beyond treating compliance with certain requirements as a mere box-ticking ex...

1 day 2 hours ago

TOP PERFORMING FUNDS