Australia’s superannuation funds are on the hunt for new deals in the U.S. as they scour the globe for investment returns, they said ahead of a visit to the country for an investment summit.
The country’s largest supers could put more than $240 billion to work in U.S. private markets if collaboration and partnerships between them and U.S. governments, investors and other stakeholders were deepened.
That’s the messaging that a collective of super funds, representing about A$1.5 trillion ($940.2 billion) in total, and organizations that represent them, are communicating ahead of the so-called Superannuation Summit taking place in the U.S. later this month.
About $50 billion of Australian super fund investments are allocated to U.S. private markets, according to data from super-owned A$230 billion investment manager IFM Investors and the Super Members Council, which represents supers with about A$1.5 trillion in assets that pass profits onto its members. That’s set to reach $140 billion by 2035, but deeper collaboration and partnerships could help that figure grow to at least $240 billion, the data showed. U.S. infrastructure, such as roads, ports and logistics, data centers, energy and telecommunications, could gather $110 billion in Australia super investments by 2035, up from $20 billion today.
The message accompanied a statement co-signed by IFM Investors, 10 of the largest super funds, the Super Members Council and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.
A delegation of super funds, alongside Australian sovereign wealth fund the A$237.9 billion Future Fund, Melbourne, will attend the summit in Washington D.C. next week “to go into bat for the interests of millions of Australians who have investments in the United States through their retirement savings — scouring the globe for the best deals to boost returns,” the statement said. The event will see the supers, organizations and sovereign wealth fund — alongside investment managers and banks — join Kevin Rudd, Australia’s Ambassador to the U.S. and former prime minister, as well as the country’s Consult-General Heather Ridout in New York, at the summit.
The delegation will spend four days meeting with federal and state-level government officials and peers in the investment management industry, with an aim of “building greater awareness of the Australian system that will, over the next decade, invest hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S.”
Australia’s retirement system has about A$4.5 trillion in assets.
The statement is co-signed by super funds including the more than A$365 billion AustralianSuper, Melbourne; the A$177 billion Aware Super, Sydney; and the A$114.7 billion Hostplus, Melbourne. Pensions & Investments reported on Feb. 19 that the more than A$300 billion Australian Retirement Trust, Brisbane, the A$139 billion UniSuper and the A$84 billion HESTA, both based in Melbourne, would be in attendance, alongside ASFA.
“We are constantly scouring the world looking for opportunities to grow Australians’ retirement savings,” David Whiteley, IFM Investors’ head of global external relations, said in a statement provided by a spokesman. “This summit is about positioning Australia’s superannuation system as a reliable form of long-term capital and creating stronger partnerships with our U.S. allies.”
He added that supers “will need to continue investing significantly overseas to generate appropriate risk-adjusted returns for their members” due to the fast-growing asset pools.
AustralianSuper already has A$83 billion in assets invested in the U.S., Paul Schroder, CEO, said in the statement. “Its diverse and sophisticated economy presents an unparalleled opportunity to help more Australians achieve their best financial position in retirement.”
