ACSA’s stronger super task force win awards

Four individuals have been recognised by the Australian Custodial Services Association (ACSA) for outstanding contributions to custody and investment administration. The 2014 ACSA award winners are: • Marian Azer, head of global funds services, product for J.P. Morgan Investor Services Australia and New Zealand • Daniel Cheever, vice president and head of superannuation of State … Read more

APRA lambasted over cost of compliance

APRA came under fire from speakers at the Investment Administration Conference for the cost and impractical nature of  much of the compliance with new regulation. On a panel session on the subject of Stronger Super held in Sydney on February 12,  APRA general manager Greg Brunner, heard of the stress that compliance was causing for … Read more

‘Please help trustees on data’, fund managers asked by APRA

Trustees are being swamped with information from fund managers, says the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA), which has called for more streamlined reporting to help. Greg Brunner, general manager APRA, told delegates at the 17th annual Investment Administration Conference in Sydney that fund managers should be helping trustees cope with the increased compliance they were … Read more

QSuper pension take up grows year-by-year

A sharp uptake in QSuper members choosing its pension product has coincided with the provision of greater flexibility to tailor drawdown. Since December pension payments can be increased annually in line with inflation, while limits on switching and minimum withdrawals have been removed. Members who are invested across several investment options will now also have … Read more

Funds put product dashboard in the dark

Some super funds have incurred the displeasure of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) by putting links to their product dashboard in unobtrusive positions on their website. The product dashboard provides members with five essential facts on their Mysuper fund; the return target, actual returns, a comparison with previous returns, the level of investment … Read more

No large salary increases in 2014, despite increase in positive sentiment

Salaries for most back and middle office staff in superannuation funds will only rise in line with inflation in 2014, predicts specialist recruitment firm Robert Walters. The exceptions are for candidates in the areas of information technology and compliance. Andrew Hanson, director of financial services, market, sales and legal at Robert Walters, sees indications for … Read more

Profile: Craig Turnbull CIO Local Government Super

Some of Local Government Super’s ideas on ESG arise from a requirement that even its most red-blooded active manager must research it as part of their investment process. Chief investment officer, Craig Turnbull, says: “We will only use managers that think about ESG factors when making their investment decisions, so that it is making a … Read more

The impact of new reporting standards on the operations of funds and their advisers

How are the people responsible for ensuring accurate and timely measurement of financial performance and compliance obligations coping with new APRA requirements? A group of chief financial officers, their advisers and service providers met to discuss the issues. A pdf copy of the discussion “All funds agree that there needs to be more information delivered … Read more

Transforming custody

Superannuation funds would like their custodians to be providing more liquidity and stress testing of their assets. Partly this is being driven by regulation, partly by trying to make sense of increasingly diverse and dynamic portfolios. It is also important in calculating the management expense ratios needed for MySuper on product dashboards. The following quotes … Read more

Insurance choices – a tough call for trustees

Come July 1, 2014 trustees are faced with an unpalatable choice caused by Australian Prudential Regulation Authority rules on what insurance they can offer. Either they give all members insurance in line with the regulations or they retain the existing offer for those who joined before that date and give the revised deal to new … Read more

Budget to unleash infrastructure sell-off

The Federal budget in May is to prioritise measures that will help states sell off brownfield infrastructure assets, the assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos has promised. Speaking at a Value Alliance gathering in Sydney, Sinodinos said state governments would be offered incentives to use money gained from asset sales for building new assets – spending that … Read more

The characteristics of successful investment leaders

A key ingredient for success in any organisation is strong leadership. It is common in the corporate world for the chief executive to change every five to 10 years as the organisation evolves. Are the same principles true for large institutional investors? Roger Urwin, global head of investment content at Towers Watson, who also leads … Read more