SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS – AUSTRALIA

Future Fund lifts returns on back of equities rally

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 24-Jan-24

The federal government’s Future Fund has advised that it has posted a return of eight per cent in the year to 31 December. The sovereign wealth fund has in turn reported an annualised return over three years of 7.4 per cent, and 7.6 per cent over five years. The Future Fund’s full-year return for 2023 was boosted by a sharemarket rally in the fourth quarter, which increased the value of its assets by 3.2 per cent. Future Fund chairman Peter Costello says the high inflation environment of the last two years has made it harder for the fund to achieve its mandated return target.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Future Fund tops $200b, banks on active managers

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 2-Feb-22

The federal government’s Future Fund has posted a return of 19.1 per cent for 2021. The sovereign wealth fund’s assets under management rose to a new high of $204bn during the calendar year. It has achieved a return of about 10.8 per cent each year since it was established in 2006 with just $60.5bn worth of assets. Future Fund CEO Raphael Arndt has warned that investors cannot expect the "easy returns" of the last decade or so to continue. He adds that some asset classes will be impacted when interest rates start to rise, although he has downplayed the prospect of stagflation.

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AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Future Fund just shy of $200b after 1.2pc quarter

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 26-Oct-21

The federal government’s Future Fund has posted a return of 1.2 per cent for the September quarter, following a record gain of 10.2 per cent for the three months to June. Australian shares gained 5.34 per cent in the September quarter, while international shares gained 4.68 per cent and emerging market shares lost 4.17 per cent. The Future Fund reduced its exposure to global shares during the quarter, while its allocation to infrastructure and private equity assets increased; the latter is now its biggest asset class. The sovereign wealth fund boasts nearly $200bn worth of assets under management.

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AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Federal super blowout at $50bn

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 22-Oct-19

The Department of Finance has released data showing that the federal government’s unfunded superannuation liability topped $233.1bn at the end of 2018-19, compared with $183.1bn at the start of the financial year. Meanwhile, the Future Fund’s assets rose to $165.7bn in the year to September. The Future Fund Act allows the government to begin withdrawing money from the sovereign wealth fund in 2020 to meet unfunded super liabilities, although the Coalition has renewed a 2017 commitment to not do so.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL

Future Fund’s returns good, not great

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Jan-19

Data from Chant West shows that the federal government’s Future Fund achieved an average return of 10.7 per cent over the seven years to September. This is lower than the returns of major industry superannuation funds over the same period, including AustralianSuper, Hostplus and Cbus. Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia CEO Martin Fahy says the Future Fund would have lower costs and lower net returns if it were to be converted from a sovereign wealth fund into a super fund.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, UNISUPER LIMITED, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD

Future Fund wary as economy holds up

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 31 : 30-Aug-18

The Future Fund has posted a 2017-18 return of 9.3 per cent for 2017-18, compared with its targeted return of 6.1 per cent a year. It has achieved a return of 8.7 per cent each year over the last decade. Meanwhile, the Future Fund has reduced its cash holdings in the last year, while its exposure to Australian shares and the private equity sector has increased. MD David Neal says asset prices are likely to fall when synchronised global economic growth comes to an end, while chairman Peter Costello says the tariff war will also affect asset prices.

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AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Future Fund exempt from Labor tax plan

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Mar-18

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has advised that the Federal Government’s Future Fund will be exempt from Labor’s proposed changes to the dividend imputation system. He says exempting the sovereign wealth fund from the reforms will have no net impact on the Budget, while adding that the fund’s ability to meet future public sector pension liabilities could have been affected if it were denied access to cash refunds for unclaimed dividend imputation credits.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Future Fund’s Apple bite triples

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 31-Oct-17

The Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and the ANZ bank remained the top holdings of the Federal Government’s $A134.5bn Future Fund in 2016-17. National Australia Bank replaced Telstra as the sovereign wealth fund’s fourth-largest holding, while Apple rose from 86th to eighth position in the list of its top 100 holdings. New entrants to the list in 2016-17 include GGP, Amcor, Sydney Airport and JP Morgan.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, APPLE INCORPORATED, GGP INCORPORATED, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, EQUITY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES TRUST, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, MAGELLAN GLOBAL FUND, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS COMPANY LIMITED, VISA INTERNATIONAL

‘Good debt’ to underwrite Future Fund

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 1-Sep-17

The Future Fund has posted an annual return of 8.7 per cent for 2016-17, compared with its target return of 6.9 per cent. However, chairman Peter Costello says returns and asset values are likely to be affected by an expected rise in interest rates. He adds that the Federal Government’s decision to postpone drawdowns by five years will allow the sovereign wealth fund to cover all unfunded public sector super liabilities, which are forecast to top $A200bn in 2021. The Government will increase what Treasurer Scott Morrison labels "good" debt to fund super liabilities between 2021 and 2026.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA, QIC LIMITED, PORT OF MELBOURNE

Cashed-up fund cools on property

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 24 : 1-Nov-16

The Future Fund has posted a return of 1.5 per cent for the September 2016 quarter. Its cash holdings rose by 0.4 per cent to 22.1 per cent, compared with just 15.1 per cent for the same period in 2015. The sovereign wealth fund lifted its portfolio’s weighting toward equities by 0.6 per cent to 29.4 per cent, while its exposure to property and private equity fell. MD David Neal says the Future Fund is likely to maintain its risk-adverse profile. Its assets under management totalled $A124.65bn at the end of the quarter.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, PORT OF MELBOURNE