Superannuation funds wishing to stem the self-managed super fund tide should be offering product look-alikes or partnering with financial institutions providing SMSF services, says Russell Mason, Deloitte partner in superannuation. With close to 1 million Australians directing their money to SMSFs, Mason says projections based on today’s activity sees up to three-quarters of the post-retirement-market … Read more
Superannuation funds delaying after-tax investment compliance should not be neglecting implementation of solutions in the lead-up to the July-1 deadline for Stronger Super, says Raewyn Williams, head of tax consulting at Russell Investments. From July 1 it will be compulsory for superannuation trustees to focus on post-tax outcomes as part of the new Stronger Super … Read more
Cbus has appointed Grant Harrison as investment manager of private markets in its move to boost inhouse investment resources. Kristian Fok, executive manager of investment strategy, says the fund is likely to finalise four more appointments in the next few weeks, expanding the analyst team. The additions follow an injection of 15 new staff, the … Read more
The classic board table scene is changing. Where once it featured stacks of board papers, now it’s increasingly common to see a series of iPads instead. It’s a new way of communicating for trustees, as boards transition to universal adoption of mobile devices. It’s easy to assume the move to paperless is entrenched in the … Read more
Andrew Fairley, chair at Equipsuper and lawyer at DLA Piper, was one of the first in the legal profession to carve out a superannuation practice specialty after he identified a gap in advice to super funds. How did you move into the superannuation space as a lawyer? I got into superannuation in 1978 because I saw it as … Read more
New Local Government Super (LGS) chair, Bruce Miller, says the superannuation fund is focused on growth post-global financial crisis (GFC), with the board open to potential mergers and its attention fixed firmly on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment strategies. Miller, a former Cowra Shire mayor recently elected for a two-year term, said the $7-billion … Read more
Leaving his post at the $38-billion fund, First State Super chief investment officer Mark Sainsbury has announced his retirement from financial services. No direct replacement has been announced, but former Perpetual group executive of income and multi-sector products, Richard Brandweiner, will be taking up the position of director of investment services next month. Sainsbury reflects … Read more
Following Elana Rubin’s departure as chair of AustralianSuper, chief executive Ian Silk has commended her contribution. “We are very disappointed to lose Elana as chair,” Silk said. Rubin, who was a board director of AustralianSuper for seven years, of which she was chair for six, is currently not giving any clue as to what her … Read more
Some people love change. Many resist change as an unwelcome reshaping of their pleasant personal landscape. Others reckon you have to wrestle with it, even if you don’t like it. They make the most of their efforts to improve things. Put me in the first and third categories. We groan and grumble that governments and … Read more
There has been increasing demand for equity indices in Asia. This is because global investors want to benefit from the region’s growth, and consequently from its financial markets. As many US and Europe-based investors do not have the expertise to conduct stock picking in Asia, equity investments are often passive for Asian-oriented portfolios. Therefore, the … Read more
The date July 1, 2013 is a significant one for the superannuation industry in Australia for a couple of reasons. While it marks the commencement of Stronger Super, it also sees the departure of the man who has overseen its inception. About a week and a half ago, it was announced by the deputy prime … Read more
New statistical data collections that form part of new Stronger Super requirements will now be phased in from 2014, says Australian Prudential Regulation Authority deputy chair Ross Jones. The exception will be superannuation funds with MySuper authorisation. “The reporting framework is still not completely finalised. There’s still work to be done, for example, on the … Read more
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