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Super funds lagging behind on private equity
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.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
Laura Dew is editor at Super Review. Prior to joining SR, she spent five years working at Investment Week in the UK covering asset and wealth management.
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