Peter Costello might have jumped the gun in announcing the Turnbull government had agreed to lower the Future Fund's investment target in line with a low-return environment.
The chairman of the fund, a former Liberal treasurer, had welcomed the decision to reduce the fund's target by 50 basis points from a long-standing inflation plus 4.5-5.5 per cent.
Mr Costello acknowledged it was still a challenging target, but one that was more realistic, at a time when investors faced lower returns across all asset classes and yields on government bonds are at historically low levels.
However, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann told a Senate hearing on Wednesday the government had yet to make a formal announcement on any change.
"There is a process to go through," he said.
Senator Cormann expects the treasurer will table a new mandate in parliament before the end of the financial year.
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