The rectification of unit pricing errors that have delayed Zurich’s sale of the Finium and i.super master trusts to Australian Wealth Management (AWM) is moving slowly to completion.
The latest error, which occurred on the watch of BNP Paribas Securities Services and is understood to have involved $1 million, transpired between September 2006 and January this year. Zurich head of investment management, Barry Tomkinson, described the error as “unremarkable”, and said that Finium’s current members affected by the episode had been compensated, while members who left the fund during or after the error took place were yet to be compensated. “We’re in discussion with the regulators to confirm how that methodology is going to happen,” Tomkinson said. Meanwhile, a separate, substantially larger unit pricing error, committed while AAS Superannuation Services was the backoffice provider and dating back to 2003-04, is still unresolved. The error, believed to have cost Finium members up to $9 million, is in “the final stages of resolution,” Tomkinson said. He said the rectification plan was subject to the approval of both the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. “It’s with the regulators and we expect a response any week now,” he said. AWM boss Chris Kelaher was unavailable for comment.
The $355 billion AustralianSuper has acquired a $1.4 billion European industrial and logistics portfolio, owned by OMERS real estate subsidiary Oxford Properties. The nation’s biggest fund is targeting a $7.5 billion valuation for the venture and $35 billion allocation in European and UK region before 2030, supported by its biggest international office in London with 121 employees.
Darcy SongJanuary 14, 2025
