Oasis Asset Management is finalising its search for a new insurer, with the platform set to choose from a field of two remaining contenders in February.
“We looked at the whole market and narrowed the list down to two,” Wayne Lowe, Oasis managing director, said. “We don’t want too much emphasis placed on them,” he said. Lowe would not comment on whether ING, which owns a 76 per cent stake in Oasis, was one of the two final contenders. “We haven’t ruled anyone out.” Oasis began looking for an alternative to PrefSure, which has provided insurance to clients of the platform for the last three years, in October 2006. Lowe said Oasis was looking for several insurance products from providers, including salary continuance, death and total permanent disability, employer and personal business. Important criteria in the tender included operational efficiency linking advisors, platform, and insurer; and a quick “turn-around” of insurance paperwork. Meanwhile, Oasis is preparing to integrate front-end straight-through processing (STP) into its MoneyOne software system – also in late February. “We’re basically lining it up and will turn it on at the end of February,” Lowe said.
AustralianSuper’s appointment of a general manager, retirement to replace Shawn Blackmore, which follows ART's redeployment of Kathy Vincent to chief operating officer, shows that mega funds are back-pedalling on the strategy of having dedicated retirement C-suite executives. The role had been touted as the next big thing in super funds' organisational structures, but experts say what matters is there is senior accountability for decumulation.
Darcy SongDecember 4, 2024
