There is broad consensus in industry and Canberra that the collapses of the Shield and First Guardian master funds – and failures that led to them – demand a regulatory response. But getting that response wrong could create an uneven playing field in the industry and some counterproductive consumer outcomes.
Super funds and their members could be exposed to returns turning out to be poor over an extended period. Were that to happen, confidence in the system itself could be shaken.
New AMP CEO Blair Vernon says that he will work hard to bolster its corporate super offering and gain back the market share it has lost to competitors like Australian Retirement Trust in recent years as part of a “relentless” focus on returning the master trust to positive inflow.
Extended periods of market weakness are not as rare as often thought. With growth asset exposure approaching 75 per cent for APRA-regulated funds, the industry and members could be exposed to returns turning out to be poor over an extended period.
The appointment of profit-to-member mainstay Robbie Campo to the CEO role at the $100 billion HESTA comes with the fund under increasing pressure relating to its relationship with Grow Inc. and the industry-wide acceleration of outflows to platforms.
More regulation is needed to address consumer harm arising from SMSFs and the Financial Accountability Regime should apply even to platforms that outsource their super trustee in order to close governance gaps, according to Insignia Financial CEO Scott Hartley.
Produced in partnership with Royal London Asset Management. Delays and multiple rounds of consultation on financial advice law reform stretching back more than three years have left the industry disillusioned, and a growing number of super fund members entering retirement in a state of uncertainty and without the full benefits of appropriate guidance, let alone … Read more
Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services Dr Daniel Mulino writes exclusively for Retirement Magazine that superannuation fund members deserve a dignified retirement, consistent with the objective of super, and it is well past time to move the public conversation from super providing a lump sum to it being the source of ongoing and reliable income.
The $335 billion Future Fund is hoping to find tens of millions in cost savings by consolidating arrangements with external data and tech providers and putting a number of roles under review as it reconsiders resourcing in a volatile investment environment that it “expects to endure”.
As artificial intelligence models become more sophisticated, gaining an edge over the market increasingly requires investors to tap into both human wisdom and information derived from technology. At FIS Singapore, investors from HESTA, Temasek and Pictet unpacked how they are rethinking portfolio construction in the age of AI.
The institutions managing long-term savings might not be built to respond at the speed the world now moves. The gap between knowing and acting – which, ultimately, is where all risk lives – is one they can’t afford to keep open.
Former GESB CEO Ben Palmer has taken up the top job at Affinity Funds Management after 13 years at the Western Australian super fund, joining the ranks of super fund executives who have headed to family offices, charities and asset and wealth managers following careers in the super sector.
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Investment Magazine provides in-depth, monthly analysis of trends and developments for all the businesses in which superannuation funds engage‚ including asset allocation, investment manager selection, custody and fund accounting, member administration, group insurance and compliance.
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