Superannuation funds will continue to insource investment management, particularly if they have sufficient scale but they need to be aware of the risks.
Insight Investment Multi-Asset Strategy Geouo portfolio manager, Steve Waddington told the Conference of Major Super Funds (CMSF) that scale was a key determinant for organisations looking to insource asset management but they needed to measure their capability.
He said organisations had to consider how much they could bring in house and how long they could hope to be successful in challenging markets.
Answering a question from the floor during a session on investment strategy through a period of lower returns for longer, Waddington said the key was likely to be having the necessary expertise to manage investments through challenging periods.
However he said he believed the insourcing trend would continue with the risk for funds being the ability to retain the right people to continue to succeed.
Despite tariff challenges and a weaker US dollar, the investment manager remains optimistic that Asian markets, both big and small, stand to benefit.
The uncertainty surrounding US trade policy is weighing down global growth prospects, KPMG warns.
The US and Europe trade deal represents a significant step forward in resolving trade conflict, but markets have largely priced in the good news already, says the asset manager.
The Australian sharemarket is back to overvalued following the sharp rally since April, but many sectors still offer attractive stocks, according to the research firm.