How we invest members’ super

Our four investment beliefs

We aim to enhance member returns.

We believe in active management – both asset allocation and stock selection.

We use our scale to reduce costs and better structure investments.

We’re aware of our responsibility to the broader community, consistent with our obligations to maximise benefits to members.

Investing for you

Super is the largest asset most people will ever own, after the family home. It’s your money, and we invest to help make sure you’re going to get the most out of it.

Using our size to benefit members

As Australia’s largest super fund, we take advantage of opportunities that aren’t available to smaller funds. These include large unlisted assets like Kings Cross, Ausgrid and WestConnex.

Strong cashflows enable us to allocate funds to different asset classes without selling valuable long-term investments. This also helps keep transaction and tax costs low, which benefits members’ returns.

In-house investment expertise

Our in-house investment team of over 170 people invest members’ assets and almost half of them are managed by internal teams. This gives us more access to better investments and saves millions of dollars in costs every year. Good returns and lower costs have resulted in a better ‘net benefit’ for members*.

We’re active managers

We believe an active management approach delivers the best long-term returns. That’s why we select specific sectors, assets and stocks that have the potential to outperform the broader market. We also use index managers in some options to lower overall portfolio costs or where active management opportunities are smaller.

Investing globally for members

With teams in Australia, Beijing, London and soon New York, we are able to access insights and opportunities in targeted global investment markets. Our on the ground presence also allows us to efficiently monitor our global investment portfolio and make timely investment decisions.

*Investment returns are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Our decision-making process

There are nine elements that underpin our investment process.

1. Investment strategy: we set, approve and monitor the investment strategy.
2. Investment objectives: we set specific objectives for each of our investment options, including defining the risk and appetite objectives and performance target.
3. Strategic asset allocation for each of the investment options: we define the strategies within risk and liquidity constraints and implement performance and risk testing.
4. Portfolio allocation: we allocate the capital received in each investment option in line with the asset allocation outlook, manage capital allocation to the portfolio and define and rebalance the tactical asset allocation.
5. Asset class mix decisions: we define and approve each asset class’s objectives and manage the capital allocated to each asset class or sub asset class.
6. Investment manager selection: we appoint the internal and external managers who select our securities, monitor their performance and apply consistent initial and ongoing due diligence.
7. Share selection: we conduct research, then select the shares within the constraints of defined investment manager agreements and internal investment mandates. We manage the portfolio and the capital allocation in line with our objectives, corporate actions and governance rights.
8. For direct unlisted assets such as property and infrastructure, we identify, evaluate ,conduct due diligence and make decisions to purchase or dispose of investments. We are also responsible for monitoring their ongoing performance
9. Implementation: we trade securities within the constraints of defined investment management agreements and internal management mandates