The government is in the process of finalising terms and identifying the person or persons who will advise on new rules for financial advice following recommendations from the 2019 Royal Commission. The report, due in by the end of the year, will be yet another change in the regulations for superannuation funds and the rules governing financial advice. John Durie reports.
Australia’s super system is based on a traditional male model of working, according to SDA national assistant secretary Julia Fox, but things, especially for women, haven’t operated that way for decades and despite recent wins over the $450 threshold, things haven’t changed much. Fox, Seven Advisory managing director, Mary Delahunty and chair of Women in Super’s Policy Committee and Cbus Super’s group executive Robbie Campo gave their thoughts on gender issues in super in a recent interview for Investment Magazine.
It’s worth noting fixing superannuation in isolation from the greater problem of the gender pay gap is not enough. If a woman doesn’t earn the same as a man, she won’t accrue the same superannuation, writes AIST CEO Eva Scheerlinck, who reminds us while celebrating International Women’s Day is a positive step, true gender equity is a 365 day a year job.
APRA’s MySuper performance test is world leading but may be counterintuitive to rewarding alternative investments and disruption according to Mercer’s president, investments and retirement, Rich Nuzum.
Speaking just before the Ukraine conflict broke out, Professor Stephen Kotkin, warned of the destabilising effects Russia’s actions could have on globalisation and how they could harm the west. Watch this video interview with Princeton University’s geopolitical expert.
Mid-sized construction industry super fund Cbus has plans to join the ranks of the mega funds with more mergers on the cards according to CEO, Justin Arter.
The Australian government has started applying pressure on superannuation funds to divest Russian assets saying it’s important Australia sends a “clear and unequivocal signal that we condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified attack on Ukraine”. Chris Dastoor reports.
Institutional investors have more than just a legal obligation to maximise returns for members, they also have a legal obligation to prevent harm to people, says KPMG’s partner, human rights and social impact, Meg Brodie. The problem, however, is they don’t have enough data to make informed decisions.
The merged Queensland superannuation giants, QSuper and Sunsuper have created Australia’s second largest fund, but CEO Bernard Reilly tells Glenda Korporaal, that’s just the beginning as it aims to become a $500 billion fund by the end of the decade.
There are good reasons to provide some superannuation taxation concessions, according to Dr David Knox, senior partner, Mercer Australia, but they need fixing for, among other reasons, addressing the gender super gap in a cost-neutral manner and simplifying the system.
The investment arena provides much fertile ground to generate and test hypothesis-driven quantitative approaches, Philip Kearns, a managing director with the global investment and technology firm, the D. E. Shaw group, said during a roundtable of leading industry figures who discussed the present and future of quant equity investment strategies.
Legislation enabling greater super choices for South Australia’s public servants expected to come into effect later this year presents new challenges for the $42 billion Funds SA according to its CEO Jo Townsend, Glenda Korporaal reports.
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