Have financial institutions become less vulnerable to shocks?

The biggest risk to investors is not another financial system crisis but a global shock that has been underestimated. Graham Harman, investment strategist, Asia-Pacific at Russell Investments told an audience at the Paul Woolley Centre for the study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality in Sydney, that investors should be more concerned of a risk hitherto underestimated, … Read more

Russell Investments sold to private equity firm

Russell Investments has been sold to TA Associates, a private equity firm that specialises in building up fund management companies. The London Stock Exchange Group has sold the global fund management and consulting operations of Russell Investments to TA Associates for US $1.15 billion, with Reverence Capital Partners taking a minority shareholding. Russell Investments will … Read more

Indian infrastructure roundtable

Although concerns exist for the investment case for India around the dearth of information and the lack of process so far in accurately gauging past performance and the future risk return pay off, a recent Investment Magazine roundtable showed there is a palpable desire to bridge that divide, and increase the allocation of super fund money to an economy that has … Read more

Media Super restructures insurance offering

A 150 per cent increase in premiums in three years has led to new options being developed including rehabilitation of members and the halting of selection against Media Super. Michael Rooney, deputy chief executive officer of Media Super, said the historical methods weren’t sustainable as the fund has experienced a 70 per cent increase in … Read more

Why leaders fail and succeed

The leaders of publicly listed companies are prone to lying, self-aggrandisement, bullying and narcissistic behaviour. This is the damning indictment of US chief executives by Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organisational behaviour at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, in his book Leadership BS, fixing workplaces and careers one truth at a time. Pfeffer’s contention … Read more

Australian Catholic Super adopts bucket strategy

Australian Catholic Super has launched a account based pension product based on a bucket strategy, offering members a simple and accessible solution which tackles the risks associated with longevity. Similar to solutions used by financial planners and Equip Super, the product works by investing a member’s account balance into two buckets: cash and growth. The … Read more

The future super fund CEO

Let’s for a moment think about what a major super fund might look like in 10 years’ time and what that will mean for a future chief executive. Firstly, a quick reminder of the industry shape in a decade. The received wisdom is that the superannuation fund industry could well end up with a small … Read more

A global call for more equitable tax breaks in super

A wake-up call for governments worldwide on the need to tackle a looming shortfall in retirement savings has been made by the Global CFA Institute. Using research taken from the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index, a CFA report entitled An Ideal Retirement System calls for a more sustainable and equitable distribution of tax breaks as … Read more

SuperStream’s potential to impact asset allocations in a GFC

Increased member engagement with superannuation funds and the improved efficiency of transferring money could combine to disastrous effect in the face of another GFC-like event, a leading superannuation researcher has cautioned. Several factors have changed since the GFC, including the introduction of SuperStream and the rise of mobile-enabled websites, enabling the behavioural bias of members … Read more

1 in 3 finance professionals unhappy at work

The financial services industry is plagued with chronically low levels of engagement with a nationwide study revealing one in three finance professionals is unhappy in their job. The highest levels of unhappiness were amongst Gen Y with 40 per cent reporting they work in joyless jobs, according to research by pac executive Human Capital. Those … Read more

Knowing members by name: AvSuper’s chair, George Fishlock

George Fishlock is the chair of AvSuper and well known by members in the tight-knit industry of air traffic control services. Investment Magazine reports on what a close relationship with a membership can enable a fund to do. Walking around the Airservices Australia building at Melbourne Airport, the hub controlling flights over half of Australia’s airspace, many … Read more

Outgoing Ripoll calls for policy change to cope with demographic challenge

Policies have yet to be put in place that will adequately tackle the challenges resulting from the enormous demographic shift of a growing ageing population who are living longer, the departing Shadow Assistant Treasurer Bernie Ripoll has warned. Failure to tackle retirement savings, and how long they last, will led to a fall in living standards … Read more