Metrics and Insignia joined at the tip
They shared $4 billion in member money – and a chairman.
Just as Bathla's lack of Western Sydney waterproofing is about to give North Shore SMSFs a cold shower, the general consensus is that high net worth and retail investors will be left holding the bag for Australia's legion of overexuberant private credit managers.
What I certainly don't think is well understood in the Australian market is the extent and nature of the private credit exposures of retail super funds Russell Investments, MLC, IOOF and OnePath. These funds are seriously, seriously horny for the biggest name and biggest lender in Australian private credit, Metrics Credit Partners.
Rather than being separate funds, IOOF, MLC and OnePath – including their brands Plum Super and ANZ Smart Choice Super – really operate as one. They all fall under the Insignia Financial blanket. And there are two things that stick to this blanket: shit and Metrics. Time may well prove them to be one and the same.
Despite Insignia and Russell's enthusiasm for Metrics, there is no obvious whiff of the vertical integration that has tainted so many retail super fund investment decisions.
However, just because there's no vertical integration, doesn't mean that Insignia and Metrics don't have some common ground.
