SYDNEY - The A$51 billion ($57.4 billion) Future Fund will begin investing by the end of this financial year - only weeks away - regardless of concerns it may be entering at the top of the market.
The fund was established by the federal Government last year tomeet superannuation liabilities, estimated to hit A$148 billion by 2020.
The fund is estimated to be worth more than A$51 billion, with A$42 billion in contributions from the Government, and a little under A$10 billion in Telstra shares.
The fund's general manager, Paul Costello, said the fund, which appointed Watson Wyatt head David Neal as its chief investment officer last week, was "on track" to achieve its plan of investing before the end of this financial year.
"We've always said that we will begin investing in this financial year, and of course that's now only a couple of weeks away," Costello told ABC TV. "So that remains on track ... and that plan will be executed."
But asked if he was concerned the fund might be investing at the top of the market, which in the past few years has witnessed unprecedented gains, Costello said: "I think that's a concern for all investors.
"We're absolutely clear that this is not a good time to be investing a large portfolio as a few years ago might have been, so we spend quite a bit of time thinking around that," he said.
"We know that there are many investors who have been punished for standing on the sidelines for too long waiting for corrections to happen which do take some time.
"Equally there have been investors who have been punished for jumping in ... without being sensitive, so we are trying to run a middle road there."
