Sunsuper has continued the transformation of its board with the appointment of Jenni Mack as its first ever independent trustee. Mack, the founder of consumer advocacy group the Superannuation Consumers Centre, recently raised her profile with a speech on the need to create two new consumer rights, that was delivered to super fund representatives at … Read more
The development of digital platform is enabling funds to better comply with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) by automating compliance and providing documentation of key data sets related to members. State Super Financial Services’ use of digital platforms means defined parameters are set around the advice the fund’s advisers can give, as the system … Read more
AustralianSuper has publicly endorsed the CFA’s Asset Manager Code of Professional Conduct, as part of a bid to get the code more widely adopted by fund managers. The code outlines the ethical and professional responsibilities of firms that manage assets on behalf of clients and is an attempt to get uniformity of basic standards worldwide. … Read more
AUSCOAL Super is to change its name to Mine Wealth + Wellbeing from July 1 after market research showed its members were looking for ‘more than super’. The move goes hand in hand with a new range of products – some ready to go live in July and others in development, which will include credit … Read more
AustralianSuper has hired two people to run domestic small caps and is in process of appointing a third. George Batsakis, formerly of Goldman Sachs, and Luke Smith, formerly of Canaccord Genuity, have joined the fund which is in the process of establishing its small caps and global equities teams, projected to reach as many as … Read more
Edward Smith is to become Legalsuper’s first chief investment officer on June 29. Smith is joining the $2.6 billion fund from Australian Unity, where he was head of portfolio management and responsible for a team managing the assets of several friendly societies, two health companies, the non-lending assets of a building society and wholesale and … Read more
There is still value in infrastructure, according to ADIA’s head of infrastructure, John McCarthy, provided you adopt a flexible approach. The huge sovereign wealth fund is reviewing its strategy, including whether it currently has appropriate benchmarks in infrastructure, a question that has been prompted by its outperformance. The natural competitive advantage that the Abu … Read more
Maged Girgis, partner at Minter Ellison, points out the growing likelihood of legal challenge for trustee directors that ignore analysis and evidence of global warming in their investment decisions, but he says any decision to include or exclude carbon-intensive assets must be one that involves, analysis, deliberation and information gathering. Recently there has been an … Read more
Growing capacity to invest, cheaper valuations than equities and low interest rates were all cited as tail winds for listed infrastructure at an IMCA lunchtime seminar in Sydney on Friday. The key challenge to this rosy picture for the asset class at the seminar was a difference of opinion on how far interest rates would … Read more
Global investors’ hunt for return has become so keen that Australian bonds have in recent months seen high correlations with changes in yields on German bunds, according to UBS Global Asset Management. After making headlines for negative yields in March, German bund yields rallied in April and Australian bonds yields followed suit despite domestic economic … Read more
Statistical analysis of the Budget changes to super show the Government has cut back on overall fairness to all Australians in terms of tax concessions. Ton Garcia, chief executive of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees explains why. Last month this column examined the issue of fairness – or to be more precise – … Read more
Changing liquidity premiums and a long time horizon allow the NZ$29 billion sovereign wealth fund, New Zealand Super Fund, to access new investment opportunities. Liquidity premiums are appearing in niches because of the changing activities of the banking sector, essentially in areas where investment banks, brokers and hedge funds were actively involved pre-GFC. “One of … Read more
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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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