POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Time to revisit fixed interest
Global consultancy Towers Watson has urged superannuation fund trustees to revisit their fixed interest allocations to ensure their configurations remain relevant.
In an analysis made public this week, Towers Watson said a prolonged period of inverted yield curves and tight credit spreads, followed by the global financial crisis and subsequent issues in global sovereign bond markets, had presented a challenging range of environments for fixed-income portfolios.
“If investors have not already done so, we believe that it is an appropriate time to revisit the objectives for this asset class and to ensure that portfolio and manager configurations remain fit for purpose,” the analysis said.
It said that trustees needed to consider more than just the percentage of their allocation towards bonds, and to also take account of duration and consequent exposure to risk factors.
On the question of active versus passive management, the Towers Watson analysis said there was no one-size-fits-all solution and that certain factors, including investor belief, comparative costs, complexity and fund size, had a large bearing on the issue.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
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.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
33.51 3 y p.a(%)
2
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI Second Close
32.68 3 y p.a(%)
3
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.62 3 y p.a(%)
4
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
31.36 3 y p.a(%)
5
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
29.60 3 y p.a(%)
