By looking further down the chain of superannuation fund staff, AIST has the opportunity to boost its membership as funds decline in number but grow in size. In addition to offering vocational training for the various tasks in super, it has established focus groups with which these new segments of its memberships can engage. These ‘communities of interest’ cater to business development managers, young people in super, and staff of regional and state-based funds. “We need to focus on the new roles in the industry,” Reynolds says. This includes the next generation of trustees. The last member survey that AIST conducted was answered mainly by men in their 50s, and some in their 60s. Many of these trustees are, or will soon be, on the cusp of retiring from their roles, and over the years they have built a deep knowledge about their membership and what it takes to run their funds.
“They’ve got a lot of experience and know the history,” Reynolds says. “We need to make sure these skills and histories are passed on.” She says AIST will step up its efforts to engage unions and sponsoring organisations over their succession plans. Some are more proactive than others: they have nominated incoming trustees and are preparing them for their future roles. Other funds haven’t taken these steps. AIST’s focus in trustee succession will be educational, “so that people aren’t coming in cold to $20 billion, $30 billion, $40 billion funds”. Reynolds expects succession plans, among other pressing matters in industry super, to be part of the discussion in the members-only session at CMSF 2011, in which attendees will be encouraged to air their plans for the next 12 months. In two years, AIST will carry out another survey aiming to capture the thoughts of the industry’s influential people. By then, the impact of these new initiatives on the industry, and the association’s strength and survival, will be evident.
Consensus means compromise Paul Costello has set a deadline three months from now for the industry to decide on how to best implement the Stronger Super reforms. There are campaigns, such as the push for 12 per cent SG, where agreement from the retail and not-for-profit sides of the industry is unanimous. But fierce disagreement exists elsewhere. The heads of the major associations representing super – Reynolds of AIST, John Brogden at the FSC, Pauline Vamos of ASFA and David Whiteley at the ISN – are on the official panel advising the Government on the implementation of these reforms. As precious days pass by, Vamos is keen to send a wake-up call to the industry because she says it is deluding itself on two fronts. First, its belief that there are no alternatives to the current structure of the super system is naive. Second, its belief that it is being consulted about the policies is dead wrong. An absolute threat to the industry is the Government’s ability to withdraw its endorsement of the industry’s current structure.
