Australian pension fund Rest Super to invest in crypto for its 1.8 million members

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Australia’s Rest Super retirement fund is set to become the country’s first retirement fund to invest in cryptocurrencies.

The fund has over $ 46.8 billion in assets under management (AUM) and approximately 1.8 million members. The superannuation is the equivalent of a 401k or individual retirement account in the United States and is mandatory for all employees. So far, the $ 2.4 trillion industry has been extremely cautious of cryptocurrency.

At Rest Super’s annual general meeting on November 23, the company’s chief investment officer Andrew Lill told members that the company sees digital assets as an “important part” of its portfolio going forward, but that it would proceed “with caution and prudence”, noting that:

“It’s still a very volatile investment, so any allocation exposure we make to cryptocurrencies will likely be part of our diversified portfolio because initially a fairly small allocation that can build over time.”

Lill went on to add her view that providing members with exposure to crypto and blockchain technology could provide a “stable source of value” at a time when investors are flocking to crypto as a hedge against currency-based inflation. fiat.

“I think in a time of inflation this could be a good place to invest,” he said.

Following the IOC’s speech, a spokesperson for Rest clarified in a statement that he “certainly sees cryptocurrencies as a way to diversify our members’ retirement savings. [but] will not invest immediately.

“We are currently conducting extensive research on the asset class before making any decisions,” the spokesperson said. “We are also looking at the safety and regulatory aspects of investing in this category. ”

The comments contrast with those from Australian Super this week, with the chief executive of the $ 167 billion fund, Paul Schroder, saying on Monday that “we do not view cryptocurrency as investable for our members.”

Last month, it was reported that the state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) was looking to gain exposure to crypto. However, the company told Business Insider this week that the reports were “incorrectly implied” and downplayed any move to adopt digital assets.

QIC’s chief currency officer Stuart Simmons also said that while he expects pension funds to embrace crypto in the future, it “is likely going to be a trickle rather than a flood.

The discussion comes at a potentially bullish time for the Australian crypto market, following the development of broad regulatory proposals in October by a Senate committee as part of a campaign to make the country the next crypto hub. , with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will offer crypto trading through its banking app earlier this month.

Related: Australian Senator Says DeFi ‘Won’t Go Away Anytime Soon’

As the country waits to see which large mainstream financial firm will be next to embrace crypto, CBA CEO Matt Comyn said earlier this week that the bank was more motivated by FOMO than worrying about risks associated with digital assets.

“We see risks in participating, but we see greater risks in not participating,” he said.

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