LGIAsuper has taken home Medium Fund of the Year at the 2018 Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards.
NZ Super chief investment officer Matthew Whineray presented the award to LGIAsuper chief operating officer Timothy Willmington at a black-tie gala dinner held at the Ivy Ballroom in Sydney on March 8.
“We’ve invested heavily in the digitalised platform in the last year and moved onto a new administration platform with Bravura,” Willmington said. “The combination of those two has certainly led to greater servicing for our members.”
The future for LGIAsuper is about using technology to benefit members, he added.
“We want to continue focusing on member servicing,” he explained, “and take the fund to a whole new level in terms of the digital offering, straight through processing, those sorts of things.”
Whineray said competition was of a particularly high standard for this award and judges were impressed with the quality of all five finalists.
LGIAsuper ranked well across all of the scored categories and was especially strong on fees, insurance and pension offerings. However, where the fund really stood out was in investments, member services and governance, Whineray said.
“Congratulations to a well-rounded fund with a clear focus on member outcomes that provides a wide range of investment choices to members, combined with strong returns, a great advice offering, and a website with appropriate tools,” he said.
Other finalists in the Medium Fund of the Year Category (for funds with between $5 billion and $10 billion in assets) were: EISS Super, Energy Super, LG Super, and Statewide Super.
Click here to see a full list of all the winners.
About the awards
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull thanked all the winners and finalists for their contribution to making Australia’s superannuation system “even better”.
“There are few industries that have such significant and far-reaching effects on people’s lives,” Turnbull said. “One of the important ways we can build a better superannuation system is by encouraging and awarding innovation and excellence…Tonight’s awards do just that.”
While there are many other awards nights on the industry calendar, the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards are unique in that they are not aligned with a research or ratings house, and do not charge funds to participate. Actuarial and consulting firm Rice Warner assists with quantitative analysis.
The judging committee comprises California State Teachers’ Retirement System chief investment officer Chris Ailman, Fund Executives Association Ltd (FEAL) chief executive Joanna Davison, CHOICE chief executive Alan Kirkland, Financial Services Council chief executive Sally Loane, Rice Warner chief executive Michael Rice, and former minister for financial services and superannuation, the Hon. Bernie Ripoll.
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority deputy chair Helen Rowell is a special adviser to the judging committee, which remains the only truly independent awards panel in the sector.
“APRA views sound governance practices as fundamental to the delivery of value for money outcomes for members,” Rowell says. “I was, therefore very pleased to see the steps taken by the judging panel this year to enhance the approach to assessing governance and give it more weight in determining the winners in various categories.”
The 2018 Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards are produced with thanks to platinum sponsor AIA Australia and event partner FEAL.
“AIA is honoured to sponsor the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards, because we feel this is a great way of recognising the important work funds do, looking after millions of members,” AIA Australia head of corporate and master trust clients Anthony Clough said.
“As a purpose-led organisation, AIA has a partnership philosophy at the heart of our business, and funds are amongst our most important partners in the industry.”
VIEW: Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards 2018 photo gallery
Nearly $50,000 was raised on the night for the event’s charity partner The Wayside Chapel. Conexus Financial would like to thank guests for their generosity. If you would like to add to the tally, you can still donate via The Wayside Chapel website.
