Star stock picker Kerr Neilson isn’t afraid to admit when he’s wrong. Three years ago, he refused to believe that women would never want to buy their clothes and shoes online, only to watch internet-based retailers for women become the most popular websites in the world, facilitating enormous sales volumes daily. “Three-to-five years ago, I … Read more
Former politicians commonly go on to become company directors or ambassadors for charities when they retire, but few would expect a one-time Liberal member of parliament to pop up on the board of an industry superannuation fund. The 2006 appointment of former New South Wales Liberal party leader, Peter Collins, as an independent director of … Read more
Cuts to red tape and greater market freedoms in superannuation have been promised by Senator Matthias Cormann if the Liberal Party wins the election. These will open up the system of default funds for industry sectors and will also face the imposition of independent trustees. He has also reiterated his party’s promise that there will … Read more
The Liberal and Labor parties have both resisted pressure to pass on Australian infrastructure projects direct to superannuation funds. At a Financial Services Council meeting in Sydney last Friday, Treasurer Chris Bowen was asked by a superannuation representative if he would facilitate such investment. He was emphatic in his response: “I have never supported mandating … Read more
The trend towards greater active foreign-currency management is to collide with a hike in compliance costs, delegates of the National Australia Bank Superannuation FX Conference heard. Half of all funds now take currency hedging decisions at a total portfolio level, up from 8 per cent in 2003, and are increasingly using tailored strategies, rather than … Read more
Two emerging markets specialists have explained why developed market equities are outperforming countries such as China. Anne Richards, global chief investment officer at Aberdeen Asset Management, said economic growth was not a proxy for equity market performance, with the MSCI Emerging Markets Index severely underperforming the MSCI World Index in the last 12 months despite … Read more
The key offerings from fund manager QIC read like the constituent parts of a stable, inflation-linked income portfolio. There is property and infrastructure, bonds and – for a bit of spice – some absolute-return capabilities. The possibilities are not lost. So while many are busy philosophising about how to invest in retirement, QIC believes it … Read more
The next chief executive of Sunsuper will have to handle the fund’s expected rapid growth, according to chair, Graham Heilbronn, who says projections show the fund growing from $24 billion to $40 billion in the next five years. The fund will be searching internally as well as externally for a new chief executive, with Heilbronn … Read more
Three quarters of superannuation members are interested in funds offering them access to a direct-investment option (DIO) platform, according to a survey. Those in corporate and retail funds are most interested in the prospect of being able to make more individual investment decisions within their main super fund, according to interim data from a questionnaire … Read more
UniSuper is to grow its number of financial planners, as research shows members are more likely to stay with the fund if they receive intra-fund advice. Speaking at the AIST Superannuation Administration Symposium in Melbourne on August 15, Chris Davies, UniSuper’s executive manager for member and employer solutions, said the fund’s unique understanding of its … Read more
Only a third of super funds have changed the insurance offer in MySuper products, an Investment Magazine survey has revealed. New benefits are being offered by 19 per cent of funds, while 14 per cent have merely adjusted existing offers according to age groups. The most common new benefit is total and permanent disability cover, … Read more
Employers face new and mounting occupational health and safety risks as more Australians choose to work long into their 60s, according to Talent2 director Peter George. Speaking at the AIST Superannuation Administration Symposium in Melbourne on Thursday, George said an ageing workforce presented both opportunities and challenges for organisations that needed to be more flexible, … 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.
