Iress announces executive re-shuffle
Iress has announced several changes to its executive team, including the departure of an Xplan co-founder.
Stapling puts super ‘ahead of the curve’: Shlomo Benartzi
World-renowned behavioural economist and UCLA professor Shlomo Benartzi has praised stapling as a piece of legislation that puts Australia in a leading position when it comes to instilling the idea of superannuation as a lifetime account. However, he urged funds not to let the member behaviours that the super system fosters, mostly the set-and-forget mentality, turn into disadvantages during the retirement phase.
Unified view boosting appeal of total portfolio approach
The changing nature of volatility in financial markets and a more client-centric approach that allows allocations to be tailored is helping more institutions adopt a total portfolio approach to investment management, the Fiduciary Investors Symposium at Stanford University has heard.
Cost of living pressures put focus on quality advice offerings
A spike in the cost of living is having an effect on pre-retiree and retiree member behaviour, and super funds with a solid and accessible advice offer are well placed to help these members negotiate some tricky and complex issues.
Grocery retail therapy leaving many unhappy
Our leading grocery retailers claim that the dividends they pay contribute directly to the retirement incomes of millions of Australians. But that doesn’t mean they have free reign to dupe consumers through illusory discounts, which is what they’re accused of doing by the ACCC, and it seems engagement by asset owners with Woolworths and Coles may not be adequately addressing the elephant in the aisle.
AustralianSuper names head of Americas alongside other new hires
AustralianSuper has appointed Mikaël Limpalaër as its head of Americas, alongside a slew of other new hires in the US office.
Lill moves on after five years at REST
REST is on the hunt for a new chief investment officer as Andrew Lill, who has been in the position since 2020, will step down in November. Lill was the industry fund’s first CIO and oversaw its assets surging from $53 billion to $86 billion during his five-year tenure.
UK mulls what (and what not) to learn from super
As UK pension reform picks up steam, British policymakers and funds have embarked on fact-finding missions to understand the inner workings of their Australian counterparts, as well as what to learn, and what not to learn, from the superannuation industry and policy.
Leading asset owners behind new DEI code for Australia
Leading asset owners Future Fund, HESTA and VFMC have backed the adaptation of a global diversity, equity and inclusion code to Australian conditions. The launch of the code by the CFA Institute follows its successful introduction in the US, Canada and Europe and Australian investors are now invited to join almost 200 existing signatories around the world, who collectively manage about 30 per cent of global institutional assets.
Penny Wong to address financial services industry
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong will headline the next instalment of the Conexus Financial Political Series, with an exclusive briefing on Australia’s international relations, wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and next US presidential administration. The rare appearance before a financial services audience comes as Senator Wong makes the case for peace in a world of increasing conflict and complexity.
HESTA appoints general manager of compliance
Health industry super fund HESTA has appointed Tim Pietsch as general manager of compliance.
A tale of two investors in the property market ahead
One of the world’s biggest property investors sees a rebound coming but has warned that not all asset owners are equally well-placed to benefit from it. What the path looks like for an investor from here depends very much on their starting point, but for those with capital to invest today and few legacy issues, it could be a once-in-a-decade opportunity.
