Super giant calls for utility sale

AN Australian fund-management titan controlled by the industry superannuation sector has called for more privatisation of public-owned assets.

IFM Investors, which is owned by more than 20 industry super funds, says more assets should be privatised so super can bankroll nationbuilding infrastructure. It says in “the longer term”, cash sitting in super accounts will have to play a greater role in funding the needs of the nation.

IFM, which specialises in infrastructure investment and has $111 billion in funds under management, says it can provide critical capital for major projects.

Chief executive Brett Himbury said the Melbournebased fund manager would hand “tens of millions” back to its investors after a better than expected financial year. The group did not put a figure on the rebate, but said it was the equivalent of 7.5 per cent of investment management fees paid over the past year.

Originally called Industry Funds Management, IFM is owned by 27 industry super funds, the not-for-profit funds established by unions. IFM has stakes in almost 30 assets, including the Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth airports, Port Botany, Port Kembla, the Port of Brisbane and Anglian Water in Britain.

Mr Himbury said IFM and the super industry more broadly had a key role to play in nation-building infrastructure.

Super funds “can, must and will” provide funding for infra- structure and other enterprises in Australia, and there was a need to privatise more government-owned assets, he said.

“Some states are at this point in time opposed to privatisation but their fiscal position continues to deteriorate,” Mr Himbury said. “They must engage with the private sector including aligning with investors like us in the future.”

Government-owned water utilities were examples of assets ripe for privatisation and represented a “massive opportunity”, Mr Himbury said.