Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing” Warren Buffet, an outstanding long-term investor. An investment philosophy is a roadmap for your fund. Imagine you are driving without a map or a GPS. All you have are signs that appear from time to time telling you what towns or villages are coming up and how … Read more
Chief financial officers from First State Super, Unisuper and Equip and leading advisors have called on the government and the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority to better explain their intent on portfolio disclosure. They say sensible reform can only take place once this is explained. In a debate held at the Investment Magazine offices, the group … Read more
The only certainty in the discussion on superannuation board standards is that all sides agree there are some poor performing trustee directors out there. If the Coalition can deal with this in a way that does not cause excessive cost or disruption it will look very smart, but it won’t be easy. As conservatives the … Read more
QSuper has given a teasing snippet of its progress in placing default fund members into group cohorts. This month it moved $21.7 billion of savings for 440,000 members into separate group strategies designed for specific ages, account balance, contribution rate and gender, but has not revealed the nature of each strategy. The switch has occurred … Read more
Within the Superannuation industry, cost has become a key factor for funds. Legislative reforms now require trustees of MySuper funds to consider whether their scale disadvantages members. This approach of ‘encouraged consolidation’ is premised on the assumption that bigger funds deliver lower costs for members. The focus on costs is important because while investment returns … Read more
First State Super will see its internal investment team rise from 12 to around 22 people over the next six months as part of a push for a more dynamic approach to opportunities. The broader internal expertise is intended to help make smarter decisions on strategic asset allocation and in the choice of fund managers, … Read more
The Treasury still has much more detail to provide on portfolio disclosure requirements before it can be viewed as workable, according to Unisuper’s head of investment law and compliance. Luke Barrett, who is responding to the Better Regulation and Governance discussion paper from the Treasury, is working with the Law Council of Australia’s superannuation committee … Read more
Superannuation funds should be given short-term tax incentives to invest in social infrastructure, such as retirement homes to help meet a shortfall in the care needs of the baby boomers, a chief investment officer will propose to the Murray Review. David Bryant of Australian Unity believes the investment is ideally suited to superannuation funds due … Read more
A group of academics are investigating measures of cognitive function that can be applied to gauge the financial decision making of retirees and their capacity to make optimal decisions when running a self-managed super fund (SMSF) portfolio. Paul Gerrans, associate professor of finance at the University of Western Australia, is concerned at the ability of … Read more
Two recent reports have delivered very different views of the Integrity of the Australian superannuation system. The 2013 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (the Index) gives the Australian retirement system an A in its integrity sub-index, while Morningstar’s 2013 Global Fund Investor Experience Report rates Australia as a C+. So, who’s right? In both reports, … Read more
Does ASIC’s MoneySmart website retirement income calculator produce estimates that contravene the Corporations Act? Consider the following BBQ conversation: Bill: “I’m retiring next month and was just using ASIC’s MoneySmart calculator to see how much income my superannuation will provide me” Bob: “That is really of interest to me as I won’t be far behind … Read more
All five of the major consultancy firms have a gloomy outlook on investment growth, but while several see hope in dynamic asset allocation, Jana Investment Advisers has urged investors to readjust their expectations. Representatives from each firm were quizzed by Sean Henaghan, investment director of AMP Capital at the Investment Management Consultants Association’s annual conference … 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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