More super funds turn to investment managers
Superannuation funds are using more investment managers these days than they did four years ago, according to the latest data released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The latest APRA Annual Superannuation Bulletin revealed that, on average, funds used more than three times the number of investment managers in June last year than they did in June 2004.
It found that the average number of investment managers per fund rose from 1.4 at June 2004 to 4.6 at June 2007.
It said that, at the same time, the proportion of funds that directly invested all their assets decreased from 24 per cent to 6 per cent.
In what represents a reversal of fortunes, the APRA bulletin has revealed that corporate funds recorded the largest growth last financial year, with assets increasing by 32.6 per cent to stand at $69.2 billion.
The growth recorded for the 12 months to June 30, last year, represented a reversal in fortunes in circumstances where corporate funds had been seen to be in decline for most of the previous five years.
However, assets under management in corporate funds were still small compared to those of the retail and industry funds, with industry funds increasing assets by 31.3 per cent for the period to $197.3 billion and retail funds increasing assets by 23.7 per cent to $369.7 billion.
The APRA data showed that contributions to funds with more than four members totalled $96.1 billion and that of these funds, retail funds received 46.8 per cent ($45 billion) of total contributions, followed by public sector funds with 25 per cent ($24 billion), industry funds with 24 per cent ($23.1 billion) and corporate funds with 4.2 per cent ($4 billion).
The annual bulletin revealed that the return on assets for superannuation entities with more than four members was 13.2 per cent for the year to June 30, 2007, with corporate funds recording a return on assets of 14.7 per cent, followed by industry funds with 14.2 per cent, public sector funds with 13.3 per cent and retail funds with 12.5 per cent.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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