A leading academic has called for a review of whether the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) is limiting the growth of the financial services sector. Professor Rodney Maddock of Monash University says that no such review of APRA has taken place since its formation in 1998. Maddock, who was formerly a senior executive at the … Read more
NGS Super has cut the cost of launching a direct investment option for members by using a white-labelled platform from Mercer. Anthony Rodwell-Ball, chief executive of NGS Super, said developing such a platform was prohibitive, but the whitelabelled product from Mercer was half the cost of a tailored platform. Mercer already provides administration and member … Read more
The internet has been empowering for many consumer decisions, but can it empower the public on retirement investments? Anyone planning an overseas holiday can look at pages that rank hotels, restaurants and travel experiences in order of popularity and customer satisfaction. They can search for the most convenient and cheapest flights, for currency conversions and … Read more
Prime Super and Health Industry Plan (HIP) have announced an intention to merge in order to create a combined fund of $2.4 billion in assets and 150,000 members. The new fund will be known as Prime Super, it will be headquartered in Melbourne and will go live on May 1st. The deal has taken a … Read more
Industry funds are taking steps to appoint independent trustees ahead of any government decree forcing them to do so. In contrast to media reports that have depicted industry fund boards as fighting the Treasury proposal to have at least a third of their directors independent of employer or employee organisations, several funds are already changing … Read more
The superannuation industry climbed a mountain in meeting new reporting requirements in 2013 and can do the same again in 2014. David Braga, chair of the Australian Custodial Services Association, attributes the success to close co-operation between funds providers and APRA. “The initial (reporting requirements) draft that APRA issued at the end of 2012 was … Read more
Legalsuper has been able to negotiate a three year premium freeze on group insurance with OnePath owing to the low risk profile of its members. It has also gained unlimited death cover, a rise in TPD cover from $2 million to $3 million, a doubling in increased terminal illness benefit to $2 million and increase … Read more
Those helping super funds to manage their investment data report an industry groaning under the weight of more compliance than it has ever faced before. Providers say the cost of increased workloads and systems build will be passed back to members, while opportunity costs are being incurred from the holding up of innovation. DST Global … Read more
Large to medium sized funds are increasingly ordering tailored infrastructure portfolios that can be skewed for characteristics such as growth, inflation protection and liquidity. The trend, which is being seen by AMP Capital, is also being encouraged by APRA regulation which calls on trustees to demonstrate they have chosen investments to meet their specific risk … Read more
Peeyush Gupta wants to forge strategic referral relationships with industry and corporate super funds, hire more advisers, open new offices, and see it lead the debate on post-retirement in Australia. The group has also commenced a research project on managing longevity risk. According to Gupta, the high and rising cost of providing ongoing personal advice … Read more
Many will quickly tell you there is greater return to be made from smart asset allocation than from manager selection, but few investors will jump to expand on this theory the way the Future Fund does. For David Neal, chief investment officer of the fund, strategic portfolio construction is typically done at too high a … Read more
Difficulties meeting the three day turn around for member transfers, a statutory obligation from January 1, 2014, has brought renewed concern at the practicality of super funds coping with regulation. Graeme Arnott, chief operating officer at First State Super, said that his fund and much of the industry were under “immense pressure” to carry out … 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.
