David Chua

Russell Investments has been appointed by Income Insurance, one of Singapore’s leading composite insurers, to manage an $8.6 billion  foreign exchange (FX) overlay mandate across its global investment portfolio.

Income Insurance manages a diversified $33.6 billion multi-asset investment programme spanning bonds, equities, and private assets and serving close to 1.4 million customers.

“Russell Investments stood out for its portfolio hedging and implementation expertise,” said David Chua, Chief Investment Officer, Income Insurance. “The proposed solution aligns with Income Insurance’s investment model towards operating efficiencies and execution capabilities.”

Jason Edgar, Head of Asia-Pacific at Russell Investments said, “We are proud to serve one of Asia’s leading insurers and see Income Insurance’s appointment as a clear sign of the rising demand for currency solutions. Delivering efficient implementation to improve returns for insurers and family offices is a core part of our continued expansion in Asia.”

“Institutional investors are placing greater emphasis on how currency exposures are managed within complex global portfolios,” said Alistair Martyres, Director, Customised Portfolio Solutions, Asia-Pacific at Russell Investments. “FX management has become an increasingly important component of portfolio implementation and risk management. A disciplined overlay programme can provide greater transparency across currency exposures while supporting more efficient and consistent execution.”

Under the mandate, Russell Investments will deliver a customised FX overlay programme to manage Income Insurance’s currency exposures in line with its overall investment objectives.

The solution provides enhanced transparency over FX exposures across asset classes and regions, enabling more effective management of currency risk. Russell Investments will also support overlay implementation through a streamlined operating model, leveraging straight-through processing (STP) and direct integration of custodian data.

Russell Investments’ currency capabilities include an agency-only model with multi-venue access to more than 25 banks and 50 streaming liquidity providers. In 2025, Russell traded over $630 billion in FX and over 190 currency pairs.

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Notes:
[1]  All figures quoted are in USD unless specified

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Andrew Pease

Russell Investments has announced the appointment of Andrew Pease as Head of Investments, Asia-Pacific (APAC), reinforcing the firm’s continued commitment to investment excellence and strong client outcomes across the region.

Pease, who most recently served as Global Chief Investment Strategist and has been a visible voice in global media for more than a decade, brings over 30 years of experience in asset allocation, portfolio strategy, and macroeconomic research. He will relocate from London to Sydney in July, following a multi-week transition and client engagement period in June.

“Andrew is a seasoned investor with a long history at Russell Investments and a deep understanding of global markets,” said Kate El-Hillow, President & Chief Investment Officer. “His appointment reflects our commitment to deepening regional expertise and better aligning our investment platform with client needs across the globe.”

“Our clients across Asia-Pacific increasingly expect access to globally integrated, locally relevant investment solutions,” said Jason Edgar, Head of Asia-Pacific (APAC). “Andrew’s global experience, longstanding client relationships, and deep connection to the region make him ideally positioned to help us deliver on that promise.”

“Andrew’s appointment meaningfully strengthens our investment leadership bench in APAC,” added Jon Eggins, Head of Portfolio Management. “His ability to connect macro insights to portfolio outcomes will directly benefit clients, especially as they navigate an increasingly complex investment landscape.”

In his new role, Pease will lead the investment division in APAC and report to Eggins. He will work closely with local and global teams to deliver innovative, outcome-oriented solutions to clients in the region. His focus will include enhancing the alignment between global research and local portfolio needs, strengthening multi-asset capabilities, and helping clients navigate evolving market challenges with greater precision and insight.

Pease joined Russell Investments in 2006. Prior to serving as Chief Investment Strategist, he held the same role for the Asia-Pacific region. He brings extensive experience as an economist, strategist, fund manager, and former central banker, with previous roles at Macquarie Bank, JPMorgan, Nomura Securities, and the Reserve Bank of Australia.

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In general, people should take on more investment risk earlier in their careers and reduce that risk as they near retirement.

Australians in default superannuation investment strategies (MySuper) would be collectively $46 billion better off if their investments had been personalised to their age, according to new analysis from leading global investment firm Russell Investments. That translates to an average uplift of approximately $3,200 for each MySuper account holder.

Using its GoalTracker^® strategy as a benchmark, Russell Investments compared the performance of its age-based MySuper solution to the industry’s MySuper options* over the five years to March 2025. The firm estimates that 14.5 million MySuper accounts would have achieved an average retirement savings uplift of 6.6% over the period if their investments had been aligned to their age.

“Russell Investments launched GoalTracker five years ago to help Australians close the gap between the income needed for the retirement they want and what they are on track to achieve,” said Jason Edgar, Head of Asia Pacific at Russell Investments.

“Many Australians remain in one-size-fits-all investment strategies that don’t reflect their individual needs. We now have the track record to prove that personalising super through age-based investing and individualised strategies improves retirement outcomes.”

While age is a valuable starting point, meaningful personalisation goes further. Helping individuals set a clear retirement income goal provides the foundation for stronger engagement and smarter decisions – from how much to contribute, to how to invest and when to retire. With the right goal in place, super can work harder toward the lifestyle each person wants after work.

“GoalTracker gives participants tangible measures of progress, not just a lump sum or return number, but a view of what their income in retirement could look like and how that is tracking against their retirement lifestyle goal,” Edgar added. “And we’re seeing stronger engagement and outcomes as a result.”

According to Russell Investments, more than half (55%) of its super fund members who have set a retirement income goal are now on track or exceeding their desired outcome – a 43 percent increase since the GoalTracker tools launched in 2020.

“This demonstrates a willingness among Australians to engage with their super, set a retirement income goal and track to it,” Edgar said.

Russell Investments emphasised that super funds have a powerful role to play in improving long-term outcomes, whether by supporting better contribution habits or managing investment risk dynamically on behalf of people.

“Good decisions early and throughout a person’s working life can make a huge difference,” said Joel Atputharaj, Director, Retirement Solutions at Russell Investments.

“In general, people should take on more investment risk earlier in their careers and reduce that risk as they near retirement. But knowing how a person is tracking toward their retirement income goal allows us to go further.

“Two people might be a few years out from retirement but need very different strategies. Someone who’s on track can afford to reduce risk and preserve what they’ve built, while someone tracking behind might need to take more risk, contribute more, and/or retire a little later to catch up. That’s the power of knowing where you stand and adjusting accordingly.

“This is where experts like Russell Investments can really help – managing asset allocation dynamically to help deliver outcomes based on each person’s actual goals and personal circumstances,” Atputharaj added.

Russell Investments, through the Russell Investments Master Trust, manages the investments of iQ Super – for Life, iQ Retirement products, Nationwide Super, Resource Super, and Salaam superannuation. The Russell Investments Master Trust has approximately AUD$12 billion in assets and over 80,000 members (as at 31 March 2025).

The GoalTracker MySuper option launched in March 2020 and has delivered 5-year returns ranging from 8.15% p.a. to 10.83% p.a. across different age bands**.

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*Source: Chant West MySuper data.
**As of 31 March 2025. GoalTracker inception date is 26 March 2020. Returns are net of investment fees, costs and investment taxes (where applicable), and also net of the trustee administration fee. Source: Russell Investments. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

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