AMP removes bonds from retirement funds, shifts to gold strategy
In brief
- AMP oversees A$159 billion ($114 billion) in Australian retirement fund assets
- More than 80% of MySuper portfolios now hold more gold than sovereign debt
- Bonds fell alongside stocks in 2022, breaking traditional negative correlation
- AMP trimmed private credit holdings from 2.5% to 2% in 2026
Bonds Break Their Promise
AMP oversees roughly A$159 billion ($114 billion) in assets. The company removed government bonds from some of its retirement fund portfolios, replacing them with gold. The scale of the shift is striking: more than 80% of AMP's MySuper portfolios now allocate more to gold than to sovereign debt.
The move wasn't made in isolation. In 2022, rising interest rates and surging inflation caused bonds to fall alongside stocks, breaking the traditional negative correlation between equities and government debt. For decades, the 60/40 portfolio — 60% stocks, 40% bonds — had been the default playbook. Bonds were supposed to cushion the blow when equities tanked. They didn't.
Structural Conviction, Not Timing
AMP's reallocation goes beyond a simple trade. When a fund of this size makes a structural change to its asset allocation, it tends to reflect deep institutional conviction rather than a short-term trade. The company also trimmed its private credit holdings from around 2.5% to roughly 2% of relevant portfolios in 2026.
AMP CEO Adam Forbes has pointed to the necessity of adapting to current economic conditions. The pivot signals that major institutional money is rethinking what "safe" diversification actually means in an environment where traditional hedges have lost their edge.
