With assets more than doubling in mutual funds in Australia since 2003, asset management firms around the world are looking to enter or expand in the market, Bloomberg reports.
Previously, investment managers overlooked the country, with a population of a mere 20 million people. But since Australia began requiring employers to save 3% of workers’ salaries in 1992 and 9% beginning in 2002, workers in the country now have an average of $38,802 invested in mutual funds. Assets now hover at $763 billion, up from $356 billion in 2003, according to the
And they are expected to rise considerably this year due to the elimination of a 15% tax on lump-sum payouts for people age 60 and above.
“All that money simply cannot be invested in Australia,” said Alan McFarlane, managing director of Walter Scott & Partners in Scotland, which manages $3 billion of Australian’s money. “That makes Australia one of the most attractive markets on this planet for global equity mandates.”
