Opinion
Additional indices won’t fix the YFYS performance test
The YFYS performance test might be well-intended, but the design requires improvement, and a couple of extra indices isn’t the solution, David Bell writes.
David BellMarch 17, 2021
David Bell
David Bell is the executive director of the Conexus Institute. Bell is the former chief investment officer of Mine Super and oversees the Sydney-based think-tank's work. The Conexus Institute works with government, publishes original thought pieces as well as showcases the work of others to maximise the impact that research can have on Australia's retirement system.
Opinion
How the performance test could be tougher
The proposed performance benchmark understates performance when it comes to adjustments for withholding tax and benchmarking credit exposure with traditional fixed income indices, meaning that relative performance is overstated, David Bell writes.
David BellJanuary 21, 2021
Regulation
UNSW Sandbox Program highlights challenges of providing quality, scalable guidance
UNSW students have highlighted the tension between tailoring information to be more relevant with the desire for such information to be accessible at a low cost as part of a 'sandbox challenge' that has yielded some illuminating results.
David BellJanuary 18, 2021
Opinion
Retirement Income Review: Simplifying the complex
The Retirement Income Review is clever for a number of reasons, not least because it managed to simplify complexity and create a structured case for improving retirement outcomes by not increasing the SG, all without without making any recommendations.
David BellNovember 23, 2020
Opinion
Good engagement creates better policy
The key to addressing complexity and subjectivity in my experience is through good engagement. For engagement to work there needs to be a level of trust. Trusting can be difficult when significant agency issues exist.
David BellOctober 21, 2020
Opinion
What should go into – and stay out of – a quality SG recommendation
While personal and professional agendas make it almost impossible to have a balanced debate about the SG, there are a few key criteria that any analysis - including that of the Retirement Income Review - should acknowledge according to the Conexus Institute's David Bell.
David BellSeptember 28, 2020
Opinion
Jeremy Cooper on reviews and the retirement system’s unfinished business
While the chair of the decade old Super System Review couldn't shed light on the current Retirement Income Review, he said If the superannuation system is being used for tax-advantaged inter-generational wealth transfers then those tax subsidies should be reviewed.
David BellSeptember 7, 2020
Opinion
Peer group risk: The industry’s worst kept secret
Some funds are open and acknowledge their peer group focus, espousing that industry awards and new members are won through a competitive process and performance relative to peers needs to be actively managed. For other super funds, peer group risk management is undertaken behind closed doors, David Bell writes.
David BellAugust 19, 2020