The federal government has announced funding for a scholarship program aimed at improving the gender balance of superannuation boards. Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation Bill Shorten has announced $150,000 funding for the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) and Women in Super (WIS) to deliver the program. The scholarship will enable qualified women to … Read more
Post-retirement represents the biggest challenge to Australia’s superannuation industry and yet the sector was failing to address the growing issues either through advice or through product design. These are the views of the author of a white paper, entitled Boomer, Herding, Denial and Zeitgeist, published last week by research house Lonsec and actuaries Milliman. The … Read more
“How can invalidity claims be managed – applying strict, legalistic definitions – and yet reduce anxiety and defuse anger as such processes provoke?” I addressed this question at the recent Conexus Financial Group Insurance Summit, where I explored how I reviewed an invalidity-claims process for a public sector super fund, leading to a halving of … Read more
Over the past 20 years, the median fund returned 6.6 per cent per annum, which is in line with the consumer-price-index plus 3.5-per-cent target that many balanced options state in their objectives. Most funds are in the process of distributing annual member statements with a message of positive, albeit modest, performance. While results are currently … Read more
Castlereagh was more than a little frustrated this week that he was not able to pull off a brilliant Halloween joke. There I was, all dressed up as a ghoul to impersonate local UBS chief, Matthew Grounds, in what I thought was the safe assumption that he would be presiding over some local job cuts, … Read more
The world’s largest asset managers should be using the advantages of their size and scalability to adjust their fee structures, according to Craig Baker, global head of manager research at Towers Watson, which just released this year’s Pensions & Investments/Towers Watson World 500. “The advantage of a large manager is they could structure their fees … Read more
Lend Lease has appointed Kylie Rampa to the position of managing director for its Australian investment management business, reporting to Tarun Gupta, chief executive officer of property in Australia. In this role Rampa will oversee the group’s $8.8-billion Australian funds management and separate mandates platform, which also includes responsibility for its retail asset management and … Read more
Lend Lease has appointed Kylie Rampa to the position of managing director for its Australian investment management business, reporting to Tarun Gupta, chief executive officer of property in Australia. In this role Rampa will oversee the group’s $8.8-billion Australian funds management and separate mandates platform, which also includes responsibility for its retail asset management and … Read more
The story of failed managed-investment scheme Great Southern was a “familiar one of greed”, the Supreme Court of Victoria was told this week. The long-awaited class action brought by more than 20,000 investors in the failed forestry group began this week, the court packed with more than 30 lawyers representing investors, Great Southern directors and also … Read more
Australia’s central bank and other major financial regulators have recommended tightening regulation of the domestic over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia this week jointly released the Report on the Australian OTC Derivatives Market based on a survey of market participants. Specifically, … Read more
BNP Paribas Investment Partners (BNPP IP) has announced the appointment of John Jardim to the role of senior business development manager. Jardim will be based in BNPP IP’s Melbourne office, focusing on relationships with superannuation funds, as well as government and financial institutions. His appointment follows the recent hires of Angus Carson as head of … Read more
“The strategy governs the fund completely,” says Steve Bracks, chairman of the Cbus board. “It determines the budget and sets priorities.” Those priorities include positioning the fund to be the “complete” fund that covers the entire building and construction industry, including the 45 per cent it currently doesn’t represent in whitecollar professions such as architecture. “We … 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.
