Consulting Financial Economists
AUSTRALIA
ASSETS OF
IS THE 4TH LARGEST PENSION SYSTEM
IN THE WORLD
$US 1,565 BILLION
SOURCE: GLOBAL PENSION ASSET STUDY 2014 , TOWERS WATSON
27.4638° S, 153.0357° E
STORY BRIDGE, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
BACKGROUND
OBJECTIVE
Drew, Walk & Co. (DWC) was formally established as a firm in late 2012
DWC strives to offer:
by Dr Michael E. Drew and Dr Adam N. Walk after a number of years
working as colleagues in the superannuation, investment and university
sectors.
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Expertise born of advanced training and commercial experience;
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A model where clients deal with the principals of the business;
•
Disciplined fiduciary thinking, where we act in the interests of our
DWC’s establishment was inspired by three things.
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Drew and Walk share the belief that in the field of finance the
clients first and foremost; &
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academic and practitioner worlds complement each other – a true
An outlook where success is defined as more than just financial
performance.
nexus between academe and practice;
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Superannuation – or “pensions” for those outside of Australia – is
one of the most important issues in modern Australian life, with
political, public policy and personal dimensions and ramifications.
CLIENTS
As such, it deserves close attention.
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There financial sector has over time moved to corporate models of
DWC deals exclusively with institutions, including:
ownership where the distance between the owner of the financial
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Defined benefit plans;
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Defined contribution plans (including superannuation funds);
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Endowments and foundations;
a rise of a narrow economic focus in business relationships, and
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Insurance assets;
a rapid and dramatic fall in the regard in which financial services
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Sovereign wealth funds;
professionals are held.
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Family offices;
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Private banks;
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Financial planning firms;
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Corporates.
firm and the client has grown. In our view, the distance between
financial firms and their clients has increased leading to a number
of undesirable consequences: a weakening of the fiduciary outlook,
We do not provide services to individual investors.
Drs Drew and Walk provide pro bono services to a range of entities.
Please consult the website for further information.
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CAPABILITIES
CAPABILITIES
Consulting
Research
DWC’s principal consulting activities can be summarised as follows:
DWC has a heritage of producing rigorous and actionable applied
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Strategy and design
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Financial modelling
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Investment governance and policy
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Counsel
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Decision support
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Training
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Litigation support
financial research. This research has been tested by academic audiences
and implemented by practitioners. Drs Drew and Walk remain
research-active academics and therefore continue to build their research
profiles amongst their fellow scholars. For further information on their
publications please consult the website.
Our primary areas of expertise are as follows:
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Superannuation/ pension finance;
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All aspects of investment management;
In the event that an interested party has needs that don’t fit neatly into
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Asset pricing;
one of the above categories, we would be most glad to discuss your
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Investment governance;
particular requirements. In the event that we do not have the expertise
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Asset class research; and
“in-house”, through our network of associates we are usually able to
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Performance evaluation.
access appropriate experts in most areas of economics and finance
We would welcome enquiries by any party wishing to commission a
research paper or program.
Engagement type: Modelling plan design
Client type: Superannuation fund
Engagement type: Research Program
Objective: The client is an innovative mid-size superannuation fund
Client type: Industry Association
dedicated to serving its unique membership. A critical part of this mission
is the design of fund’s default investment option. In light of the lessons
learned from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) and the impending implementation of the Stronger Super reforms, the fund sought to investigate
the simulated performance of existing and alternative default designs,
from the perspective of retirement adequacy, in order to inform Trustee
Objective: The client has a long heritage of contributing to the
public policy debate on the basis of rigorous research. Because of
the importance of superannuation investing to Australians, the client
committed to a multi-year research program to investigate important
elements of the debate. The client sees this program as an integral part
of its role as an advocate for the industry and it professionals.
decision making.
Engagement: The research program delivers one research paper per
Engagement: The modelling engagement involved simulating retirement
annum for three years, with each paper formally launched at an event
adequacy using state-of-the-art non-parametric quantitative methods
held in each mainland state capital. In order to further evidence the
based on assumptions agreed with the client. This formed the basis
rigour of the research, the papers have been (and will continue to be)
of a detailed (and fully cited) presentation that was delivered by DWC
submitted to peer-reviewed journals for publication with appropriate
directors to the fund’s Board of Trustees.
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acknowledgements.
JAPAN
ASSETS OF
IS THE 3RD LARGEST PENSION SYSTEM
IN THE WORLD
$US 3,236 BILLION
SOURCE: GLOBAL PENSION ASSET STUDY 2014 , TOWERS WATSON
35.685196°, 139.763881° OTEMACHI, TOKYO, JAPAN
USA
ASSETS OF
IS THE LARGEST PENSION SYSTEM
IN THE WORLD
$US 18,878 BILLION
SOURCE: GLOBAL PENSION ASSET STUDY 2014 , TOWERS WATSON
40.7064° N, 74.0094° W WALL STREET, NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UK
IS THE 2ND LARGEST PENSION SYSTEM
IN THE WORLD
ASSETS OF
$US 3,263 BILLION
SOURCE: GLOBAL PENSION ASSET STUDY 2014 , TOWERS WATSON
51.5144° N, 0.0803° W
ST MARY AXE, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
DIRECTORS
MICHAEL DREW
ADAM WALK
Dr Michael E. Drew is Director at Drew, Walk & Co. Michael is a leader in
Dr Adam N. Walk is Director at Drew, Walk & Co. Adam has around 12
the field of superannuation and pension fund design, with over 20 years’
years professional experience in finance and risk management roles,
experience in financial services and academe. He is well known for his
most recently as Head of Research in QIC’s Lifecycle Strategies group,
work on the portfolio size effect and sequencing risk. In addition to his
where he was responsible for the group’s research, portfolio design
current Professorial appointment, he has served on the finance faculty
and investment risk management activities. Before that he worked as a
at the Australian National University and the Queensland University of
research consultant in QIC’s Strategy group, concurrent with university
Technology. Michael has held Senior Executive and Trustee Committee
teaching and doctoral research. Previously he was a senior investment
appointments with the QIC Limited, QSuper, Wilson HTM, Ord Minnett
professional at QSuper Limited, where he provided investment policy and
and JB Were & Son.
risk advice to fiduciaries overseeing more than $50 billion in assets, and
Michael’s research has studied and developed new approaches to
the design of the default option in defined contribution funds, as well
Adam is a financial economist and research academic, whose work
as devising winning strategies for lifecycle and target date funds. In
focusses on superannuation, pension finance, investment management
2009, Michael was invited to appear before a joint hearing of the
and investment governance. His research has been published in scholarly
US Department of Labor and the Securities Exchange Commission in
journals and other publications, including the United Nations Conference
Washington DC where he presented testimony relating to his research
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Investment and Enterprise
on target date funds. Michael’s research on superannuation was
Responsibility Review.
extensively cited by the recent Cooper Review, and has been widely cited
by industry, academic, regulatory and government agencies. Michael
has completed numerous consulting projects, including research for the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. In 2011, Michael
was awarded the Finsia (Financial Services Institute of Australasia)
Pinnacle Award for Most Outstanding Thought Leader to celebrate 125
years for the peak industry body.
Michael is a classically-trained economist and research academic, whose
work focusses on superannuation and pension finance, investment
management and investment governance.
Michael is an active company director with appointments on a number
of boards and advisory committees associated with not-for-profit
organisations. He received his PhD (in the field of Economics) from the
University of Queensland.
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a risk manager at Bank of Queensland.
Adam is an active company director with appointments on a number of
boards and committees associated with not-for-profit organisations.
He received his PhD in Financial Economics from Griffith University.
“Water is the driving force of all nature”
LEONARDO DA VINCI
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-27.4688°, 153.03088° EAGLE STREET, BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
DREWWALK.CO
 @DREWWALKCO
 DREW, WALK & CO
SUITE 34, BALLOW CHAMBERS, 121 WICKHAM TERRACE, SPRING HILL, QLD 4000
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