Page 20 - Print 21 Magazine Sep-Oct 2020

Super
Super performer
The financial year just finished saw industry retirement fund Media Super once again outperform the average. Print21 editor Wayne Robinson goes behind the figures.
investment options, or the way in which we operate, for example, streamlining processes for our members or employers. The fund is committed
to innovation and continuous improvement to meet members needs and improve member experience.”
So how did Media Super feel about its own performance in one of the most turbulent years on record? Media Super chief investment officer, Michael McQueen says,
“We are satisfied to have delivered another above median return for members in the Balanced option, during a year where we saw largest disruption to the global economy since the second world war.
“The Balanced (MySuper) option
has performed better than the median default fund over the past ten years, whilst also delivering lower fees than most of our peers. Over the last three and five years, the Balanced (MySuper) option has achieved top quartile returns.”
McQueen says “Looking ahead we are confident our Balanced option is well positioned to continue meeting its long-term investment objective for super and pension savings. We are committed to making sure our members get the maximum risk- adjusted return on their investments so they can retire in comfort.”
In addition to its role as the guardian of the industry’s retirement funds, Media Super is well known as an investor in both the print industry
and the wider Australian economy. Its backing for print industry events such as Print2Parliament, and of young people in particular, through awards such as the Media Super Young Executive of the Year, is part of what it sees as its role.
It is also an investor in Australia through its membership of IFM investors, an infrastructure investment tool, and which has
just pledged $600m to help local companies recapitalise and continue trading through the recession.
McQueen says, “Media Super is happy to have committed $100m
to this plan and stands ready to put more money to work to help lift the economy out of the recession during this critical time.”
The performance and strategy of Media Super are clearly serving the print industry well, and whatever the outcome of its potential merger with Cbus – whose performance is similarly above the norm – the fund is focused on continuing to deliver leading returns for its members. 21
[1] Accumulation Volatility and Risk-Adjusted Return Survey - SR50 Balanced (60-76 Index) June 2020.
The onset of Covid saw global stock indices plunge, and with it the hopes of many Australians whose retirement funding is
largely tied up with super. However,
a market rebound of sorts, and clever investing by industry fund Media Super, saw almost all the losses in the fund recovered, with the Media Super Balanced (MySuper) option down by just a sliver, 0.28 per cent, for the financial year ending 30 June 2020.
Of course any negative is not good news, but super fund investors know that they are in a long game, and short term volatility in markets does occur, in this instance due to the global Covid pandemic.
However, our industry’s super fund has to be seen as one that will give the least sleepless nights, even in a crisis. Media Super’s Balanced (MySuper) option is in the top-10 balanced options over three years, and above the median for five and seven years [1].
This ranking indicates that the Balanced option is an efficient portfolio of assets, as it captures its return
with lower risk (compared to peers). According to Media Super this can be attributed to several factors, including:
• the portfolio protection overlay,
which helps cushion the Balanced option against the impact of falls in equity markets;
• exposure to high quality unlisted assets, such as private equity, property and infrastructure which are less volatile than their listed counterparts; and
• resisting the urge to invest in so- called blue sky products, such as
Above:
hedge funds and alternative risk premia strategies, that require both high fees and high skill.
It is also worth noting that Media
Super has a Market Disruption Subcommittee, which allows the fund to be nimble during periods of market volatility.
So has the downward tide been turned, and what does Media
Super do to mitigate effects of a volatile stock market? Financial instruments such as stocks and corporate credit rebounded fast in the last three months of the 2019/20 financial year. This rebound, coupled with Media Super’s exposure to high-quality unlisted assets, and
the performance boost from the portfolio protection overlay, were the key drivers for the Balanced option ending broadly flat year on year.
Performer: Media Super
“Looking ahead we are confident our Balanced investment strategy is well positioned to continue meeting its long- term investment objective for super and pension savings.” Michael McQueen, chief investment officer, Media Super
Everyone knows that you don’t
get to stay in front by being passive, and as an integral part of its strategy, Media Super is always exploring ways in which it can improve its offering and member experience. Tara Collins, general manager of Engagement says, “Attending to the best interest of
our members and employers drives everything we do at the fund. This can be developing new products, or
20 Print21 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020