Evolution of the Australian Pension System: From Simplicity to Sophistication

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson is the Chief Investment Officer of Australian Superannuation Fund HESTA, a AUD 75 billion ($50 billion) pool dedicated to health and community service workers. HESTA services 90,000 employers and a million members, 80% of whom are women.

Sonya is one of Australia’s biggest stars in employing a total portfolio approach to the management of assets. We discussed this approach in past conversations with Raff Arndt from Australia Future Fund and Matt Whineray, then CEO of New Zealand Super. TPA generally uses more granular risk management and fine-tuning of incremental portfolio decisions than an asset allocation approach.

Our conversation highlights the beliefs, benchmarks, culture, and implementation that drive HESTA’s total portfolio approach. We also dive into HESTA’s objectives related to climate solutions and diversity that go alongside its real return goals.

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