Australian superannuation funds are only just catching up with allocations to private equity, according to Pengana, with allocations hovering between 4%-6%.
On a webinar, Pengana, which runs a private equity trust managed by Grosvenor Capital Management in the US, said Australia lagged behind the US and Europe.
Frederick Pollock, portfolio manager of the Pengana Private Equity trust, said: “Australia is still catching up. The Future Fund is up to 16.8% and the reasonably-progressive super funds are up at about 5% but are in the process of trying to catch up.
“If you look through their documentation, their stated goals are higher but it takes years to build up the portfolio adequately to get to those higher levels, particularly in the face of rising public markets.
“I think you’ll continue to see most institutional investors allocate to private equity and it will continue to build it up over time.”
For example, the Australian Super Balanced fund had 6% allocated to private equity, Aware Super Balanced Option had 5% and HESTA Balanced Growth had 4%.
The Pengana Private Equity Trust was currently in the process of an entitlement offer to raise $75 million to take part in new opportunities.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
Add new comment