The $16 billion NGS Super wants to give its 32,000 members in or heading towards retirement an income for life and all the confidence that comes with it. Just don’t say the ‘A word’.
Tranche 2 of the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes (DBFO) reforms establish a foundation for provision of financial advice to super fund members who would otherwise miss out. However, The Conexus Institute’s David Bell and Geoff Warren write that funds still need to rise to the challenge of using an expanded capacity to better assist their members.
Centrepoint Alliance has entered into a deal with Brighter Super that could see up to 400 members transition to external advice partnerships. The super fund is conscious of the risk members could move at the recommendation of an external adviser, but is confident its value proposition hold up.
The factors that attract new members to a superannuation fund are broadly the same as the factors that keep them there, with the proviso that funds communicate effectively about how they’re going on those factors. Research produced jointly by CoreData Research and Conexus Financial, publisher of Investment Magazine, has found value for money is currently top of members’ minds.
The total portfolio approach has already been implemented by some of the biggest asset owners around the world. But with the advent of a more volatile market and macro backdrop more funds might start putting it to work.
The $188 billion Aware Super thinks the rollercoaster markets have been on in the last few weeks might not be over. So it’s keeping its eye out for opportunities in the unlisted space and investments that other asset owners have grown cautious on.
Super funds’ adoption of a key security measure remains patchy even in the aftermath of a co-ordinated cyberattack that resulted in member money being stolen, and they’ll have to work harder if they want to protect accounts from scammers.
Misunderstanding carbon reduction strategies creates unnecessary hesitation among investors and can impact effective action on net-zero commitments. Dispelling these myths is essential to align capital markets with sustainability goals, research from Northern Trust shows.
The $330 billion Australian Retirement Trust is on the cusp of a multibillion-dollar allocation that could catapult the impact investing industry into the mainstream. But there are still questions around whether impact investing can live up to its promise of delivering both strong returns and positive social change, and that concerns around performance and scalability may hold it back.
Industry experts at CFA Society Australia’s recent Investment Leader Forum delved into the past to find clues as to what the investment firm of the future may look like. A panel session concluded that firms will probably be bigger, faster and potentially cheaper, given the direction of asset management fees over the past 30 years.
The superannuation industry as we know it only exists because of a far-sighted government policy and an implicit agreement that we all support the system. If super funds can’t do the simple things properly – including protecting members from fraud and scams – that agreement could quickly crumble.
Institutional investors continue to diversify beyond equities and fixed income to include infrastructure, private equity and real estate in their portfolios. But investment and operational complexity is rising as this shift occurs, new research has found.
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We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land upon which Conexus Financial sits, the Cadigal of the Eora Nation. We recognise their continuing connection and unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and community. We pay our deepest respects to them and their culture, and to Elders both past and present.
