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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Whether facing the enemy, or the first day of a conference, something will go wrong and you must have people within your organisation who can adapt and overcome, according to retired Lieutenant Colonel of the US Marine Corp, Dan Mori. Mori, who had a 28-year career in the US Marines including defending David Hicks before … Read more
A leading equity manager persuaded delegates of the virtue of relatively high equity holdings in superannuation portfolios. At the start of this session, Justin Wood of Vinva Investment Management asked delegates to consider if members’ investments outside of super should be considered when setting a default investment strategy. The initial feedback from the audience was … Read more
Disengagement in superannuation funds is caused by members’ fear of loss, confusion over decision making, and embarrassment at small savings levels, a behavioural economist told delegates. The findings came from interviews with 1500 super fund members carried out by market research firm, the Leading Edge. It found 67 per cent had no interaction with their … Read more
Not unlike a typical edition of ABC’s Q&A, host Tony Jones moderated a robust discussion on yesterday’s Super Q&A panel. Opening CMSF 2013, the panel debated a potential leadership spill in Labor, super reform fatigue and executive pay disclosure. Perhaps most controversial was the debate on equal representation on boards, with Garry Weaven, chair of … 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.
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