Chair of the asset manager backed by industry superannuation funds, Cath Bowtell, has called for reforms that will unlock investment in national priorities and support Australia’s superannuation funds to continue investing over the long term, aiming to drive returns and deliver inclusive growth.
During the upcoming Economic Reform Roundtable in Canberra, IFM Investors aims to propose a “Build Australia Compact”, a partnership between government, industry and investors in order to unlock capital for transport, housing energy, digital and defence projects underpinning economic growth.
Bowtell stated that superannuation investment in infrastructure “already underpins the productive capacity of Australia while delivering positive risk-adjusted returns to working Australians”.
“But we can supercharge this through better collaboration,” she added.
According to IFM Investors, the Build Australia Compact would see the government invite private capital, including superannuation funds, participation at the design phase of major projects to co-design procurement and financing models, ensuring risks are appropriately shared between taxpayers and investors.
The proposal would build on models such as the Capacity Investment Scheme and the Housing Australia Future Fund and include an alternative asset recycling model, where governments build greenfield infrastructure that is then sold or leased to superannuation funds or other investors at an appropriate time.
Bowtell added that the Economic Reform Roundtable presents an opportunity to explore how the government can streamline business processes in Australia, enabling capital to flow more quickly and efficiently amid increasingly global competition for superannuation investment.
“Planning delays are a significant impediment to investor confidence and uncertainty generates risk. We must reduce the frictions in investing in Australia,” she said
“Time is money and uncertainty generates risk. We have a unique opportunity to move beyond the ideas phase into execution. IFM is proposing well-thought through solutions to well understood problems, recognising the sense of urgency.”
Additionally, IFM Investors is also pushing for the Investor Front Door to be fully activated, giving it the authority, resources and commercial focus needed to deliver projects effectively.
So far, its capabilities have not been fully harnessed, according to IFM.
The proposed “one-stop shop” would consolidate government regulatory and investment requirements or harmonise rules across states and territories to ease the obstacles that currently slow investment in housing, defence, energy transition projects and data centres.
“The message to [the] government is that superannuation capital is reliable, fast-growing capital that can be the answer to some of the big nationally important projects Australia needs, but these ultimately need to deliver appropriate returns for the Australian workers and their retirement savings,” Bowtell said.
“Where the government can unblock planning and permitting delays, more investment can be deployed in housing, the energy transition and data centres – supercharging Australia’s future economy and society and delivering for working people in retirement.”
