Governments and superannuation funds should join hands to keep Australian infrastructure assets in the hands of locals, according to Mark Vaile, director on the investment committee for Palisade Investment Partners infrastructure fund.
He said governments could take on more risk to meet super funds halfway by either underwriting returns at the 10-year government bond rate with a set return floor, or by offering a "liquidity window" for the super fund to draw on to alleviate overprovision of capital.
While Australians are looking for infrastructure opportunities overseas, foreign investors are also targeting Australian assets, Vaile said.
"It would be a shame if the Government can't work together with Australian superannuation funds to keep assets in the hands of Australians," he said.
Speaking at SuperRatings' Day of Confrontation conference, Vaile said Garry Weaven from Industry Funds Management had the right idea – to create a partnership model for private entities to bid for assets at the planning stage.
