Australian Pension Funds Raise FX Hedges as Local Dollar Surges

Australia’s pension funds boosted currency hedges to cushion their global stock portfolios amid the local dollar’s biggest annual surge in five years.

The share of currency-hedged international equities rose to 7.5% of the total retirement savings pool in the quarter ended December, the highest since March 2023, according to data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority released on Wednesday.