Investing in Australia Conference: Japan

Investing in Australia
Conference: Japan

Thank you for attending our event on 18 November, it was an honour to host you. You can access the presentations we provided and find more information on our speakers and additional research on their topics via this site.

Our slide presentation can be downloaded here.

Access more information via the links placed throughout the agenda below.

Agenda

Please join us on Tuesday, 18 November for an informational forum on Australian investment opportunities.

9:00am

Conference welcome

MC: Wayne Sullivan, Director Marketing and Business Development, Frontier Advisors

9:05am

Introduction to Frontier

Frontier Advisors is Australia’s leading asset consulting firm. Established more than three decades ago, Frontier advises some of Australia’s largest investors with combined funds under management of A$850 billion. Frontier established an office in Tokyo in 2023 and is now working with asset owners in your region.

Presenter: Kim Bowater, Director of Consulting, Frontier Advisors

9:25am

Why Australia? Cyclical resilience, structural strength

Background on the Australian economy, how Australian asset owners are investing and opportunities for Japanese investors.

Chair: Kim Bowater, Director of Consulting, Frontier Advisors

Presenter: Matthew Peter, Chief Economist, QIC

Additional research papers

9:50am

Private credit

In this session we will unpack the latest market performance and review the key investor considerations when assessing Australian private credit markets. What are the options available and how does Australia compare to the US and European markets. Should investors be concerned about a bubble in private credit and impact on future performance? Join us as we unveil Frontier’s latest direct lending market survey results and interact with a panel of private markets industry practitioners to unpack this important topic.

Chair: Andrew Kemp, Head of Private Markets, Frontier Advisors

Presenters:

Pete Robinson, Head of Investment Strategy, Challenger
Lillian Nunez, Executive Director, Co-Head of Australian Diversified Credit, Debt Investments, IFM Investors

Additional research papers

10:40am

Morning tea

11:00am

Property

Australian real estate has never reached the troughs of other established regions such as the US and UK. We will explain why. Traditional property sectors of office, retail and industrial are at different levels of recovery in Australia. Sentiment for office and retail seems to be improving while industrial remains in high demand after reaching peak pricing in 2023/2024. Is now a good entry into the markets? We will examine valuations and the opportunities across the capital stack using equity or debt and upcoming liquidity windows unique to Australia. We will also delve into investment prospects for emerging needs-based sectors — build-to-rent, healthcare and life sciences.

Chair: Jennifer Johnstone-Kaiser, Head of Property, Frontier Advisors

Presenters:

Brad Collier, DWPF Fund Manager, Dexus
Bill McWilliams, Chief Investment Officer, MaxCap Group

Additional research papers

11:50am

Australian equities – one of the world’s most unique markets

A resource and banking market giant, a AAA rated country, and with very high regulatory standards, whose equity market has outperformed even the US over the past 125 years! The Australian market has solid economic and market fundamentals, including long term population growth, abundant natural resources, good corporate governance, high dividend payouts and strong returns on capital. There are risks of course – including market concentration and niche traits in small caps, but Australia has a very developed equity market underpinned by strong structural support from one of the world’s largest pension systems. This session will examine why Australian equities remain a cornerstone for Australian institutional investors and provide opportunities for Japanese investors.

Chair: Paul Newfield, Director of Research and Specialist Services, Frontier Advisors

Presenter: Dion Hershan, Head of Australian Equities, Yarra Capital Management

12:15pm

Lunch

1:15pm

Research process

Frontier has more than thirty years of experience assessing and rating fund managers from around the globe. In that time Frontier has developed a highly regarded manager research program and ratings process, free from any product conflicts, that has generated outstanding results for investors.

Presenter: Paul Newfield, Director of Research and Specialist Services, Frontier Advisors

1:25pm

Infrastructure

This session will provide an overview of the evolution of infrastructure investment in Australia, including the diversity within the asset class and how this has been reshaped over time. We will explain why Australia has been an early adopter of the asset class, including the pioneering role of Australian pension funds, the Australian approach to capital allocation and a discussion on listed versus unlisted infrastructure and why the latter will likely continue to be the investment strategy of choice for institutional investors. Why does Australia continue to be a popular destination for infrastructure investment and how can institutional investors access infrastructure investing?

Chair: Lucy Minichiello, Head of Real Assets, Frontier Advisors

Presenters:

Roger Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer, Palisade Investment Partners
Sam Reynolds, Chief Executive Officer, Octopus Investments

2:15pm

Afternoon tea

2:35pm

Natural real assets

Interest in natural real assets is increasing among institutional asset owners who are seeking further diversification within unlisted assets. But can these investments deliver competitive financial returns and can they create a positive environmental impact? This session will explore natural real assets (agriculture, timber and water) in Australia and discuss the challenges, opportunities and risks for asset owners seeking to build an allocation.

Chair: Dan Cave, Senior Consultant, Frontier Advisors

Presenters:

Steve Jarrott, Portfolio Manager, Warakirri Asset Management
Skye Macpherson, Head of Global Asset Management, Nuveen Natural Capital

Additional research papers

3:25pm

Investing into Australia

This session will explore the practicalities of allocating money to Australia, currency hedging, governance matters, legal.

Chair: Yuichi Alex Takayama, Head of Japan, Frontier Advisors

Presenter: Jamie Bonic, Head of FX and Commodity Sales, National Australia Bank

Additional research papers