2019 is shaping up to be another year of strong returns for the Fund, with international share markets contributing significantly to member returns. Our diversified strategy, which includes infrastructure, property, private equity and fixed interest, has helped smooth returns during bouts of heightened volatility throughout the year.
A number of factors have contributed to the volatility in investment markets, including:
Moving forward, we expect that the Australian economy will stay under pressure supporting the case for infrastructure spending and long-term low interest rates. On a global level, the unresolved geopolitical and trade events, along with weakening economic conditions, have the potential to negatively impact market returns.
Investments team will continue to monitor market movements as well as the actions of policy makers and central banks and adjust the Fund’s investment strategy and portfolio positions to maximise long-term returns for members. Weakening global economic conditions as well as continued instability in global markets, stemming from geopolitical and trade tensions, lead the Fund to remain cautious and maintain a more defensive portfolio position. Here are the main changes the investment team have made to the PreMixed options to reduce the impact of market volatility while continuing to seek long-term opportunities to provide value to members: