Australia’s Biggest Pension Fund Flags Equities, Local Property Risks
Australia’s largest pension fund, AustralianSuper, is preparing for the end of the global equities run and looking to infrastructure opportunities in the United States where it believes foreign firms will in time gain greater access.
AustralianSuper is a A$120 billion (£73.53 billion) fund that seeks out major positions, chief executive Ian Silk said at a Reuters Newsmaker event on Thursday in Sydney, that can affect its burgeoning book.
Silk said an equities rally – Australia’s benchmark has gained 43 percent since 2012 and the MSCI World Index has risen 67 percent over the same period – and recent strong Australian property price rises were being monitored and managed.
“The risks are principally in equity markets and for Australian super funds equity markets really determine the bulk of the absolute returns,” Silk told Reuters in an interview after the event.
Just over half of AustralianSuper’s most popular ‘balanced’ fund is invested in Australian and global equities, according to the fund’s website.
It has more than doubled its cash holdings over the 12 months to June 30, from 3.8 percent to 8.8 percent, with cuts to property, private equity and international equity exposure.
Read full content here: The New York Times
