“Building on the move by the former Government to increase the pension age eligibility to 67 by 2023, this Government will gradually increase the age of eligibility to 70 by 2035. That is over two decades away.” Joe Hockey, the Treasurer of Australia. The eligibility for the age pension will rise to age 70 … Read more
Met Life has scaled back its variable business in Australia, ending its nascent deal with Local Government Super, but staying committed to its RetireSafe product with MTAA Super. A spokesperson for MetLife confirmed that its Max range of products, which include accumulation investments, transition to retirement products and a lifetime growth annuity were currently halted. … Read more
Restoring trust in the funds management industry, through improved personal integrity, is mutually beneficial to the end investor and to funds management firms, a panel of industry participants said at a CFA Society lunch yesterday, launching the “Putting the Investor First” week. http://www.cfainstitute.org/learning/future/getinvolved/Pages/community.aspx Investor First Week is part of CFA Institute’s global Future of Finance … Read more
AustralianSuper is seeing increasing member enquiries on how their super is invested, as funds generally report greater member engagement. Hilary Spear, head of corporate affairs, AustralianSuper revealed the heightened interest in environmental, social and corporate governance at the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees’ Employer Engagement Symposium, held in Melbourne last week. She said: “Shareholder activism … Read more
Cbus is conducting an investigation into allegations printed in the Australian Financial Review that member details were secretly passed to a union boss at CFMEU who used them in a dispute with building firm Lis-Con. The allegations state a source at Cbus passed on details of members who were working at Lis-Con – not all … Read more
Gallows humour, exasperation and despair are the natural demeanours of administrators facing SuperStream changes over the next year. Listening to executives in super funds and administrators on the topic of pass-throughs, gateways and error messages at the AIST Superannuation Administration Symposium in Melbourne last week, many used words of dread. The process was going to … Read more
Equip has replaced the role of chief financial officer with a chief risk officer to help meet Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) guidelines for understanding all aspects of investment risk. John Rodd stepped down from his role as chief financial officer at the fund earlier this month. It is believed his future intention is to … Read more
NGS Super has delivered a tailored insurance offer to its members that keeps premium rises under control and offers a sustainable three year deal for members and the insurer. Cheaper more APRA compliant, more tailored for members, a three year agreement with the insurer and a better financial settlement for those who make a claim. … Read more
If MySuper were not complicated enough, then QSuper went one further with eight cohort strategies to meet member needs. Rosermary Vilgan, the fund’s CEO explains why the fund is still evolving. The evolution of QSuper is not slowing down. There might be rivals wishing that were not so, or potentially those who have to implement … Read more
Cbus has decided against a pre-retirement derisking phase for its default fund, despite surveys showing members wanted this to happen. The decision is also counter to the trend where Sunsuper has introduced derisking at age 55 and QSuper has introduced seven cohorts for members at ages 40, 50 and 58. Cbus members would have benefitted … Read more
A market wide deleveraging out of equities could be the next big investment risk facing superannuation funds, Mark Delaney, chief investment officer of Australian Super has warned. Speaking in a debate on dynamic and tactical asset allocation strategies, Delaney saw the risk caused by the similarity of investor positions. “We’re still overweight stocks. Everyone’s in … Read more
Greater co-operation of superannuation funds is needed to check growing wealth inequality, leading chief investment officers told delegates. The call arose in a discussion of Thomas Piketty’s best-selling finance book Capital in the 21st Century and its warning that the rate of capital accumulation is growing faster in western societies than the economy. This, Piketty … 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.
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.
