Prominent figures in the industry have been assembled to form an advisory group that will guide the Government on superannuation policy – but its discussions will be kept secret.
The committee, to be chaired by senator Nick Sherry, the Minister for superannuation and corporate law, held its inaugural meeting yesterday. I&T News was unable to discover the agenda of the meeting. According to Pauline Vamos, chief executive at ASFA, “;the whole basis of the group coming together was that what is discussed will be kept confidential”;. Sherry said the group had been established to provide an ongoing means of direct consultation with the superannuation industry and to act as a direct sounding board for the Government on superannuation issues. It plans to meet three times a year. Vamos was enthusiastic about the ability to have direct feedback about what government was doing. “;It’s very much an open dialogue held in such a way that people can be completely open,”; she said. “;It’s about getting to some positions more quickly by putting the debate upfront, as opposed to a lot of the debate being about just getting to a starting point,”; she said. Members have been drawn broadly from the industry and academia, and will participate in their personal capacities, rather than as representatives of any particular institution or organisation. Members include Jo-Anne Bloch, chief executive of the FPA; Associate Professor Marilyn Clark-Murphy, head of the School of Accounting, Finance & Economics at Edith Cowan University; Richard Gilbert, chief executive of ISFA, John Maroney, chief executive of the Institute of Actuaries Australia; Terry McCredden, chief executive of Telstra Super; Professor John Piggott, Associate Dean Research, Australian School of Business UNSW; Andrea Slattery, chief executive of SPAA; Pauline Vamos, chief executive of ASFA; Rosemary Vilgan, chief executive of QSuper; and Garry Weaven, chair of IFM.
Future Fund chief investment officer Ben Samild said that FY24 has been a great year for alpha creation, thanks to strong returns in equities and, unusually, across multiple hedge fund strategies all at the same time. He reflected the past few years have been “a difficult time to be an asset owner and to generate positive returns for risk assets” but the Future Fund is tracking well of its long-term mandate.
Simon Hoyle and Darcy SongSeptember 4, 2024
