Sonya Sawtell-Rickson

Chief Investment Officer, HESTA · 1 appearance on the record.

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Sonya Sawtell-Rickson serves as Chief Investment Officer at Australian superannuation fund HESTA, where she oversees the investment program and has pioneered a Total Portfolio Approach. Prior to joining HESTA in 2017, she was an Investment Director at Queensland Investment Corporation.

36statements → 9claims → 6claims resolved → 83%fully supported → 3.81/5average certainty → 1.53/5average debate potential → ≈4.5/5argument clarity, estimated →

5 supported 1 partly supported 0 contradicted 3 not checkable as stated how the 9 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

9 assertions · 4 opinions · 9 insights · 14 disclosures · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 9 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 6 are resolved, and 3 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Sonya argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Assertion Supported

HESTA hit initial carbon reduction goal early, raised 2030 target to 50%

“We set ourselves an interim target in 2020, a third reduction in our carbon emissions by 2030, and pleasingly two years in, we've achieved that objective, so we've increased it to 50% now.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 17:25 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

How they sound: not measured why? →

We measure speaking style by listening to the audio itself, and a fair number needs at least 2,000 words from one person on tape we have measured. There is too little of Sonya Sawtell-Rickson on measured tape to publish a rate. This says nothing about how they speak.

What they said36 Episodes1

Everything Sonya Sawtell-Rickson said on Capital Allocators that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Disclosure

HESTA currently targets an approximately 30% allocation to illiquid assets

“We currently target around 30% in illiquid assets.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 49:26 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Disclosure

HESTA stress-tests liquidity to keep illiquid assets below a 40% cap

“But assuming that those couldn't be traded, we do different scenarios and try and make sure that we're not breaching 40%.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 49:40 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Assertion Supported

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA's internal investment team is over 40% female

“Within the investment management team, we're running over 40% female, which is very high. Relative to the financial services industry and benchmark.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 54:22 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Assertion Supported

Sawtell-Rickson: APRA Bans Super Funds From New Members After Consecutive Failures

“If you underperform that benchmark by more than 50 basis points, then you fail, and you have to write to your members and tell them that you failed this test. And if you fail for two years in a row, you can't accept new members.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 59:26 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Disclosure

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA Partners with Asset Owners on Antimicrobial Resistance

“We're working with some other global asset owners on an initiative around antimicrobial resistance, which is the resistance we're all building to antibiotics as they're used through the food supply chain and overuse in the medical industry. Again, we see that …”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 1:00:52 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Disclosure

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA Launched an Australian Affordable Housing Platform

“And we're thrilled we've just announced a platform that we've launched to do exactly that here in Australia.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 1:01:45 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Disclosure

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA sees promising early signs from neural networks in equities

“There's a few early models on neural networks and equities, which are starting to sort of show Some promising signs.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 1:02:07 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Assertion Supported

Australian pension funds emerged from 1980s wage sacrifices to counter inflation

“Remember Australian pension funds really started to sort of come into existence in the eighties as part of the Creation and the sacrifice of salaries in a high inflation environment to really try and achieve dignity in retirement.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 9:32 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Sawtell-Rickson: Early Pension Funds Offered Defined Benefits Only to White-Collar Workers

“Back then, the fund that I worked for, they offered a defined benefit only for white collar workers, blue collar workers, Had much different insurance, much lower contributions and very different terms.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 10:08 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Assertion Supported

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA has over 1M members, 80% female in healthcare

“We have over a million Australians as members. The membership is 80% female, and they come from the health and community services sectors.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 13:04 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Disclosure

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA does not hold many hedge funds

“We don't have a lot of hedge funds in the portfolio.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 22:28 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Disclosure

Sawtell-Rickson: HESTA internalized Australian equities, fixed interest, and cash

“So that led us to internalize Australian equities. And we've attracted a great team into our Australian equities who have been on the ground and running portfolios now for over a year. We've also moved into Australian fixed interest and cash.”

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson Oct 9, 2023 ▶ 33:10 Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.342)

Appearances (1)

Episode	Date	Speaking time
Sonya Sawtell-Rickson – Total Portfolio Approach at Australian Superannuation HESTA (EP.34	Oct 9, 2023	46m

Sonya Sawtell-Rickson

The record, in short

Their most notable supported claim

How they sound: not measured why? →

Appearances (1)

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