It’s an obsession that Unbalanced has never really understood. Sure, it all helps Colonial get customers their tax statements within three weeks of the financial year close, but wouldn’t the punters prefer to wait another month to learn of a higher return assisted by private equity? Expect to hear a lot more of this type of argument out of Melbourne in the coming weeks and months. Members don’t care who their fund’s trustees are, so the split between retail boards made up of executives and independents, and industry fund boards of employer/ employee reps and independents, isn’t going to matter in the battle for hearts and minds. And yes, the retail funds by and large have better administration and service, but expect this gap to close once Superpartners finally installs its new platform more than two years after the original launch date. Price and investment returns are the weapons that matter in this war. And price has, indeed, been neutralised.

Our post-Cooper conference Jeremy Cooper seems to have become the closest thing the super industry has to a celebrity. Witness last month’s ‘Post-Retirement Solutions for Super Funds’ conference in Melbourne, organised by our publisher, Conexus Financial. The man who was once a relatively anonymous ASIC lawyer gave the keynote speech, and ran out of time to answer all the questions from the floor. So the audience just kept grilling Cooper after subsequent sessions, even as he was sitting back down among them.

Support Erik Mather Many readers of this page will have crossed paths with Erik Mather, the amiable funds manager who has done more to advance the cause of good corporate governance in Australia than most. The founder of Regnan, and before that BT Governance Advisory Services, has been helping superannuation funds to hold their investee companies to account for many years. However Erik’s battles for executive remuneration reform and corporate action on climate change pale in comparison to the fight he is now facing – he was recently diagnosed with multiple brain tumours, lung and bone cancer. Those who know Erik know he will fight, and keep a great sense of humour while doing so, but he and his family have asked for messages of love and support. To help, and to keep updated on Erik’s new role of “knocking off cancer cells”, visit www.teamerik. net. We at Conexus wish him all the best.