Former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has urged Australian superannuation funds to consider investing in innovation via appropriate models.
Addressing the Conference of Major Super Funds in Brisbane, Beattie outlined the success enjoyed by the Medical Research Commercialisation Fund (MRCF) and the involvement of two superannuation funds in the underlying model.
He said he believed the MRCF model provided a model that was unique and worth following.
Beattie said this was particularly the case when Australia spent more than $1 billion on research and development, but a fraction of that on commercialisation.
He said he believed Australia should develop a pool of funds for commercialising its research ideas and that superannuation funds should support the establishment of that pool of funds.
The super fund announced that Gregory has been appointed to its executive leadership team, taking on the fresh role of chief advice officer.
The deputy governor has warned that, as super funds’ overseas assets grow and liquidity risks rise, they will need to expand their FX hedge books to manage currency exposure effectively.
Super funds have built on early financial year momentum, as growth funds deliver strong results driven by equities and resilient bonds.
The super fund has announced that Mark Rider will step down from his position of chief investment officer (CIO) after deciding to “semi-retire” from full-time work.