CMSF 2013 photo gallery
Key pics of speakers, attractions and events at the CMSF’s three day annual conference in Brisbane, March 20th – 22nd.
HESTA: Industry still has to achieve adequacy
Chief executive of HESTA, Anne-Marie Corboy, says industry has not looked appropriately at adequacy in the accumulation phase when considering the post-retirement landscape. Speaking at a CMSF session on adequacy and “getting to the finish line”, Corboy was critical of the view that it’s all “done and dusted” and the focus should now simply be appropriate … Read more
Age and tax restrictions inevitable for Super
Restriction of tax cuts to superannuation contributions and the raising of the age at which funds can be accessed to 67 are inevitable regardless of which political party is in power, says Nick Sherry. Speaking at the CMSF conference in Brisbane, the former superannuation minister said the pressure for restrictions will grow as individual retirement … Read more
Geldof stirs industry to action
Sir Bob Geldof closed off proceedings at CMSF 2013 with a plea to Australia’s superannuation industry to invest in the developing world, particularly Africa. The activist also urged industry to increase engagement with its members to impact policy. “One of the things you should be doing [is] going to the developing countries. You should be … Read more
Shorten shares delegates outrage at independents
The attempt to force industry funds to have independent trustees is a “frustrated-student political resolutions masquerading as long-term policy”, Minister Bill Shorten told delegates at CMSF. Veering from his speech in praise of Labor’s record of creating and maintaining superannuation to answer a question from a delegate, the minister for financial services and superannuation told … Read more
MySuper issues “unresolved”
While the implementation of MySuper is only a couple of months away, a number of elements of the reform package remain unsettled, says David Haynes, project director at AIST. Presenting at CMSF yesterday, Haynes said of most concern to super funds should be APRA data-reporting requirements, product dashboards, SuperStream, ATO SuperSeeker and account consolidation, among … Read more
Super fraud on the rise
Payment interception by male internal staff in non-management positions represents the biggest risk of fraud for superannuation funds, KPMG’s biennial fraud survey has revealed. The profile was created from a survey of 281 financial services organisations who had detected $372.7m worth of fraud in the last two years. Three quarters of this fraud was committed … Read more
Tax-managed equity index investing
Active tax management can be used to enhance after-tax returns of indexed Australian and international equity portfolios for superannuation funds. The systematic and prudent implementation of tactics such as capital-gains/loss management and holding-period management can add real after-tax value. Simulations and back tests carried out by Parametric consistently demonstrate added value in the range of … Read more
Early intervention key
to easing claims
There’s an endless tide of flow-on effects from the stark growth in the volume of claims across the life insurance sector. While it’s encouraging that more Australians are becoming aware of the availability of their life insurance benefits, the rise in disability claims in particular places enormous financial and societal pressure on funds, insurers, reinsurers, … Read more
Funds vow to fight SMSF exodus
Leading superannuation funds are preparing to strike back against the appeal of self-managed super funds (SMSFs) by offering inhouse self-managed options to members. In a panel session which revealed how SMSFs now represent 32 per cent of all superannuation funds, larger than any other sector, HOSTPLUS said it would be offering members a self-managed investment … Read more
Super funds rank low
in customer service
According to the old adage, the customer is always right, but that’s no longer the case, says Angela Baker, general manager of customer experience and insights at ME Bank. “The focus now is not so much on the customers being right all the time and delivering an experience that delights customers, but actually just getting … Read more
Is governance keeping up with financial innovation?
AustralianSuper’s aspiration to move 30 per cent of its assets inhouse has prompted a review of its governance environment to ensure it can accommodate those internal investments. The fund attributes about 86 per cent of its risk to portfolio strategy, investment operations, strategy and asset allocation, according to head of investment operations, Peter Curtis, and … Read more
