ASFI begins work on sustainable finance capability
The Australian Sustainable Finance Institute has begun work to improve capability across the finance sector and support a stronger pipeline of talent into the industry. Capability was identified in 2021 as one of the four pillars of ASFI’s strategy on ‘Leadership for Sustainability in Finance’, and the 2022 Progress Tracker highlighted the strong demand for
July 03, 2023
Mercer appoints three non-executive directors
Mercer has appointed three non-executive directors to its fiduciary boards. Sangeeta Venkatesan and David Hartley join both Mercer Investments and Advance Asset Management boards, while Jim Miller joins the Mercer Superannuation board. Venkatesan’s executive career spans over 25 years. She has worked across Asia, Europe, and Australia, focusing on product innovation and business transformation. Venkatesan
July 03, 2023
Federated Hermes appoints investment director
Federated Hermes has appointed Sian Long as investment director of impact and sustainable equity strategies. Long has 15 years of investment experience, and has presented and delivered long-term asset growth in impact and sustainable equity strategies across institutional and wholesale clients. Before joining Federated Hermes, Long worked as a senior equity investment specialist for AXA
June 30, 2023
Nuveen launches RE strategy for private wealth clients
Global asset manager Nuveen has launched the Global Cities Real Estate Fund, its first locally-domiciled unit trust for Australian private wealth clients. Nuveen partnered with Commonwealth Private as an anchor investor to launch the strategy, with CBA seeding the vehicle. The strategy forms part of the real estate portion of Commonwealth Private’s model portfolios for its
June 30, 2023
Grow wins HESTA admin mandate
Building on the relationship with Mercy Super, Grow Inc. will supply administration services to HESTA.
June 30, 2023
E&P names successor CEO/managing director
Ben Keeble will replace Peter Anderson as CEO and managing director of Dixon Advisory parent company E&P Financial Group at the start of next year. In an announcement to the ASX, the company said this was in line with a long-term succession plan. Keeble is currently head of capital and has over 25 years of
June 30, 2023
Rest invests in ARCHIMED
Profit-to-member superannuation fund Rest has taken another step towards its impact investment target with an investment in specialist private equity firm ARCHIMED. The European-based company invests exclusively in healthcare industries to drive sustainable development and improve people’s health and economic status. ARCHIMED finds, supports, and scales up companies that have a mission to improve health
June 29, 2023
ASIC warns super trustees to boost efforts to consolidate duplicate member accounts
ASIC is warning superannuation trustees to effectively consolidate duplicate member accounts after a recent review of nine trustees identified poor practices that led to consumer harm. Of the nine trustees reviewed, three did not have documented business rules for identifying and consolidating multiple accounts on an annual basis across some or all of their funds.
June 29, 2023
BlackRock raises over $500m for development of NSW battery
BlackRock Alternatives has raised over $500 million to aid in the development of the NSW Waratah Super Battery. Funds managed by BlackRock’s infrastructure team will also help finance the construction of the WSB, which is a significant component of the project, a System Integrity Protection Scheme designed to act as a ‘shock absorber’ in the
June 29, 2023
Spark Financial to launch legacy program
National dealer group Spark Financial will begin operating as a profit-for-purpose organisation when it launches its Spark Legacy Program in the upcoming financial year. The operating model aims to improve financial literacy among young Australians, and Spark will be donating 100 per cent of its profits to nominated charity partners, the first of which will
June 29, 2023
AGILE receives ‘approved’ rating from Lonsec
Allianz Retire+ has received an ‘approved’ rating for its longevity solution AGILE from Lonsec Research. Lonsec determined AGILE to be a thoughtfully-considered and well-designed product that can assist retirees in overcoming the longevity risk by providing a steady or rising income stream over an investor’s lifetime. The solution was developed in consultation with the adviser
June 29, 2023
ASIC reveals increased levy estimate for advisers
The corporate regulator has announced its cost recovery implementation statement for FY23, which estimates a $3217 per adviser figure in addition to the $1500 flat fee. Earlier this week, the Labor government announced the end to the ASIC levy freeze implemented in 2021. The announcement was accompanied by the final report of the Treasury review
June 28, 2023
