On the Move: Felix Stephen retires

After a 45 year career in finance Felix Stephen is to step down from his role as head of strategy and research at Advance Asset Management. Stephen’s last day will be Thursday, April 30, after which he plans to spend more time working for the Volunteers to Assist Children with Disabilities charity he started with … Read more

Paul Kessell: CIO of the year finalist

Paul Kessell is the first of five finalist in the chief investment officer of the year category that Investment Magazine will be profiling in the lead up to the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards 2015. The winner is due to be announced on the awards evening at the Ivy Ballroom, Sydney, May 20. Kessell has 20 … Read more

Young people don’t regret mandatory super

Young Australians are “overwhelmingly grateful” for their superannuation, despite many not making an active decision to join a fund or select an investment strategy, research reveals. The 2014 Net Promoter Score Survey (NPS) revealed very little statistical difference between the levels of regret on super of younger versus older Australians, demonstrating a high level of … Read more

Risk officer: a new role for super?

“Financial management in a super fund is not about trying to maximise a profit – it is about minimising costs, expenses and overheads,” says Nick Vamvakas, executive officer risk of Equip, on the old style model for a chief financial officer. The role will always involve operational and compliance duties, but he sees the need … Read more

Reducing the cost of longevity insurance

Paul McCartney was only 16 years old when he wrote “when I’m 64” in 1958, so can be excused for taking a pessimistic view of what we now regard as an active phase of life during which many of us will still be working by choice. Still, median life expectancy from birth was not quite … Read more

Beyond divestment

While divestment is a useful tool to communicate concerns of climate risk to stakeholders, it is not an optimal investment strategy, in part because it ignores short-term benchmark risk. A research paper by MSCI provides a framework for evaluating ways to reduce two dimensions of carbon exposure – current carbon emissions and potential future emissions … Read more

Close to 80% of people want a cap on tax concessions in super

Close to 80 per cent of people are in favour of a cap on concessional tax breaks for account balances in superannuation, based on a survey carried out by Investment Magazine. The survey was undertaken to gauge the popularity amongst Investment Magazine’s audience for a cap on tax concessions – a proposed solution to question … Read more

ACSI appoints new CEO

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has appointed Louise Davidson as its new chief executive. She is taking over the role from Gordon Hagart who is returning to Europe. Davidson said she was delighted to join such an influential organisation’s at an important part in its development, particularly as there was growing recognition of … Read more

At-a-glance profiles of awards’ finalists

There are six weeks until the third annual Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards, with limited tickets left. This year’s finalists were selected based on a quantitative assessment by Rice Warner upon which the selection committee placed relative weights. Here is a mini-profile of every organisation and person that made the shortlist. Richard Brandweiner CFA moved from … Read more

Superannuation Complaints Tribunal appoints new chair

The Government has appointed Helen Davis as the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal’s (SCT) full-time chair for a period of five years. Davis set up her own superannuation consultancy firm in 2013 and held a number of senior roles at QSuper from 2008 to 2012 including chief strategy officer and chief officer, member outcomes. Prior to this … Read more

Heart of an innovator

Equip is one of the first to bring a post-retirement product, MyPension, to the market, to appoint a women, Danielle Press, from outside the “traditional industry” as CEO, and it has innovated by setting up a unique partnership with AustralianSuper taking on their $700 million defined benefit business. At the centre of this drive is … Read more

Eliminating commercial interests from awards

The process for shortlisting finalists in the third annual Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards was setup with the express purpose of eliminating commercial interest from the decision making procedure, Colin Tate, chief executive of Conexus Financial said. Tate said what separates these awards from others in the superannuation sector is the independent nature of the selection process. “The … Read more