Responsible investment is dominated by political correctness and is being pushed through by super funds with too little debate, according to Jack Gray, adjunct professor of finance at the Paul Woolley Centre for Capital Markets Dysfunctionality at the University of Technology Sydney. Talking to the annual Fund Executive Association Limited National Conference in Melbourne, Gray … Read more
Divesting from tobacco has had a negligible impact on returns, the Fund Executives Association Limited annual conference heard in a speech from a leading anti-smoking campaigner. Dr Bronwyn King, radiation oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Epworth Healthcare, said the analysis carried out by some of the 10 large superannuation funds that had … Read more
Tony Lally has resigned from his position as chief executive of Sunsuper, citing the desire to pursue non-executive director roles following six years at the helm. He told Investment Magazine that he achieved everything he’d set out to. “When I joined it was very much a run-of-the-mill industry fund, but the work I’ve done over … Read more
Institutional investors’ insatiable appetite for infrastructure assets is being curbed by limited deal flow, according to Paul Foster, head of infrastructure for Australia and New Zealand at AMP Capital. Foster, who was a speaker at the recent Financial Services Council’s conference, described Australian superannuation funds as “rightfully agnostic” when it came to domestic versus offshore … Read more
Technological advances in scaled advice in the US mean investment plans are being finalised in as little as three days, unlike the six to eight weeks common in Australia, according to Vanguard. Growing use of paperless procedures, programs that automatically calculate wealth management plans and video conferencing have all sped up the process. Karin Risi, … Read more
A $2.34-billion fund with only three investment professionals should be run with a strict focus on maximising where you can make a difference and keeping it simple and standard where you cannot. This means deriving most returns from smart asset allocation rather than stock or manager selection, and it means placing a large slug of … Read more
When Sunsuper recently ran a series of focus groups, the questions they asked members were a touch left of field. One question asked what they would prefer – a visit to the dentist or doing their super. Not surprisingly, the results showed Australians could be better “engaged”, given 16 per cent preferred giving up television … Read more
As the Funding Australia’s Infrastructure project has identified, one of the big challenges facing the Australian economy is overcoming our infrastructure deficit. As many commuters in our larger cities can attest – whether stuck on freeways or sandwiched in beside fellow passengers on trains or trams – infrastructure bottlenecks are growing. Productivity is the key … Read more
Six insurers have re-signed deals with a charity that aims to improve the wellbeing of Australian employees, as the cost of mental health insurance claims soars. Insurers AIA, TAL, Hanover Life RE, CommInsure, MLC and Beazley Group have signed three-year deals with SuperFriend, while MetLife has signed up for the first time. The deals come … Read more
Citi has been in the custodian market since the mid-1980s, but it’s only in the last five years or so that it has broadened its offering to include a full range of fund administration services. According to Martin Carpenter, managing director, securities and funds services, this gives them more reasons to interact with superannuation funds. … Read more
AIA has undergone two years of extensive trials to gain insights on rehabilitation in life insurance. “We believe helping to get claimants back to work is a great outcome for the claimant and a win for everyone involved. It improves the morale of the employer and their workplace, and crucially, the claimant themselves,” said Damien … Read more
Local Government Super (LGS) has converted a passive mandate to an enhanced passive mandate with State Street in a move to increase its active risk. The fund has awarded the manager a $780 million active Australian equities mandate. Chief investment officer Craig Turnbull told IM online the fund is giving State Street “more scope” on … 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.
