Super returns ready for takeoff with investments like Sydney Airport

A passenger passes through a terminal area at Sydney International Airport. ‘With the owners being long-term investors, it means ​Sydney Airport will be working for you and your children and grandchildren for decades to come.’ Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

Millions of working Australians now have a stake in Sydney Airport through their industry superannuation funds.

It is the latest iconic Australian infrastructure asset to be acquired in full or in part by industry super funds.

So what does this mean for you? And why should you care?

Effectively, this is your money working for you.

If you’re a nurse in Wollongong, a teacher in Ballarat, or a retail worker in Brisbane, it means that as an industry super fund member when Sydney Airport does well, your retirement savings do well.

As the airport reopens to the world and begins to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, any dividends that are generated over the long term wind up in your pocket and the pockets of millions of Australians just like you.

Not a bad deal.

And with the owners being long-term investors, Sydney Airport will be working for you and your children and grandchildren for decades to come.

The purchase is also a big vote of confidence in Sydney and the post-pandemic economic recovery. We want to see the airport bustling and thriving again.

Importantly, Sydney Airport remains majority Australian owned, with the new owners, including IFM Investors’ Australian Infrastructure Fund, AustralianSuper, UniSuper and Australian Retirement Trust (the merged successor of QSuper and Sunsuper), having a track record of investing billions to deliver better outcomes for passengers, local communities and governments.

It’s yet another example of Australia’s superannuation system working as it should and, in turn, contributing to a strong Australian economy.

It’s something industry super did after the Global Financial Crisis – supporting Australian businesses when they needed it most – and it’s something we continue to do as we navigate to the other side of Covid-19.

By pooling retirement savings, industry super fund members are able to take advantage of investment opportunities anywhere in Australia and the world.

They can invest across a range of assets, including major infrastructure like the $32 billion Sydney Airport transaction.

Truly, no deal is too big.

Through the industry super sector, global teams of investment professionals are working for you in London, Tokyo, New York and Sydney, all with the goal of delivering strong returns and boosting your retirement savings.

Australia’s super system is the envy of the world, and retirement savings being managed now total around $3.4 trillion.

With this size, comes great responsibility and it’s a responsibility that the industry super sector takes seriously as we know that doing the right thing is at the heart of value creation.

It’s a reason why IFM Investors, alongside a number of industry super funds, has committed to targeting net zero by 2050. IFM has also set an interim 2030 emissions reduction target equal to 40 per cent of the scope 1 and 2 financed emissions of its infrastructure assets.

Achieving net zero by 2050 will require societies, economies, companies and investors to work together to substantially reduce their greenhouse emissions.

Industry super is determined to play its part.

Through Covid-19, industry funds have also provided significant liquidity to help Australian companies survive, retain jobs, and thrive as part of the recovery.

By taking this approach, when these companies grow and succeed, this success is shared with ­individual superannuation members. We also lend to Australian businesses, invest in important sectors including aged care, renewable energy and technology start-ups, and hold about $80bn in Australian infrastructure and property.

We are contributors to growth, jobs and productivity and are aiding Australia’s current account by investing overseas and repatriating dividends and capital gains back to industry super members.

Super has given workers the opportunity to grow their wealth and invest in some of the best Australian companies and major infrastructure projects. Sydney Airport is just the latest example.

And it means that the next time you take a flight or wait at the international arrivals gate to welcome home a loved one, it’s likely to contribute to your retirement savings and the retirement ­savings of millions of your fellow Australians.

Greg Combet is chair of Industry Super Australia and IFM Investors.