POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Super outgrowing ASX opportunities
The superannuation industry is rapidly out-growing the ASX, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) director, investments and economy, Gordon Noble, has told the Financial Services Symposium in Melbourne.
The industry must collaborate to create more opportunities to invest in innovation assets such as biotech and clean technology, he said.
Noble said the market cap of the ASX was around $1.38 trillion, while the value of superannuation assets had grown by $192.2 billion over the last 12 months and showed no signs of abating. Total contributions in 2012 were $92.2 billion, up from $83.8 billion in 2011, he said.
Noble forecasted funds would invest up to an additional $20 billion into the ASX each year; and because 92 per cent of the market was made up of companies with a market cap of less than $1 billion, that equated to 20 $1 billion companies.
Similar codes to those related to mining, which had propelled the sector's growth, could be applied to other areas of the ASX to support the development of other sectors, according to Noble.
He cited the code of best practice for reporting by life science companies as a drawcard for US biotech companies listing on the ASX.
Noble said ASFA was in the process of restructuring its committees and developing an innovation working group to provide a place for strategic discussion about developing the ASX.
He said the decline of the Dutch empire [in the 17th-18th centuries] was in part due to the fact the upper class preferred to invest in economies other than their own, Noble said. Similarly, it would create long-term problems today if super funds increased allocations to global markets and diversified away from the ASX.
"Whilst things may have moved on over the last 300 years, the reality is that the superannuation industry and the economy are interlinked," he said.
"Our contributions come from millions of Australians who rely on a strong economy for their future work."
It was the industry's responsibility to make the ASX a better place for future investment, Noble said.
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
Private market assets in super have surged, while private debt recorded the fastest growth among all investment types.
The equities investor has launched a new long-short fund seeded by UniSuper, targeting alpha from ASX 300 equities using AI insights.
The fund has strengthened efforts to boost gender diversity, targeting 40:40:20 balance across its investment teams by 2030.
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
