Australian pension funds are going against the grain of pension funds in other countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by holding a higher percentage of equities with low exposure to bonds.
The OECD’s Pension Markets in Focus report found that Australia (like the United States, Chile and Finland) has between 40 and 50 per cent of its pension fund assets in equities, while the majority of other OECD countries appear to favour bonds.
The report also showed pension funds posting a positive net return on investment of 2.7 in 2010, as they slowly climbed back to pre-global financial crisis levels.
While Australia performed above average, it did not make the cut of the top pension fund performers, with New Zealand (10.3 per cent), Chile (10 per cent), Finland (8.9 per cent) and Canada (8.5 per cent) taking the top spots.
Super funds have built on early financial year momentum, as growth funds deliver strong results driven by equities and resilient bonds.
The super fund has announced that Mark Rider will step down from his position of chief investment officer (CIO) after deciding to “semi-retire” from full-time work.
Rest has joined forces with alternative asset manager Blue Owl Capital, co-investing in a real estate trust, with the aim of capitalising on systemic changes in debt financing.
The Future Fund’s CIO Ben Samild has announced his resignation, with his deputy to assume the role of interim CIO.