Aware Real Estate acquires industrial land in Victoria
Aware Real Estate, in partnership with Barings, has acquired a $600 million industrial estate in Melbourne’s North.
Jones tells funds to work with regulator on data access
With limited Parliamentary sitting days left this year, Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones has told super funds at the Conexus Retirement Conference not to expect any changes to the regulatory framework to improve data access to Centrelink and the ATO.
World-class retirement system won’t happen by accident
As regulators continue to heap pressure on super funds to “quicken the pace” of efforts to help members transition to retirement, the Conexus Retirement Conference concluded that the funds making most progress are those taking the task most seriously. The launch of a new media title aims to assist the goal of building the world’s best decumulation system.
ART appoints chief financial officer
Australian Retirement Trust has selected Phil Fraser as its chief financial officer, following current CFO Anthony Rose’s decision to explore other opportunities.
Vanguard Super announces Duffield departure from board
Vanguard Super has announced that Jeremy Duffield has departed the trustee board, where he was a director.
Trustee boards must have retirement expertise: ASIC
ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant says super fund trustee boards, and not just management, must be held accountable for helping members transition to retirement and therefore must have the requisite skills. The comments to the Conexus Retirement Conference came as the regulator urged the super sector to view their members as “customers” instead.
Super funds, not advisers, on the hook for retirement: APRA
The prudential regulator has made clear to a room full of the biggest super funds in the country that they are obligated to have a strategy that works for all members, from high-net-worth to low balance members. The message to the Conexus Retirement Conference was clear: outsourcing to independent advisers will not fulfill their Retirement Income Covenant obligations.
Adequacy, confidence and advocacy key to retirement income success
Updated prudential guidance has put super funds on notice that they need to measure and report how retirement income strategies are delivering results to members, and how they can be improved over time. As the annual Conexus Retirement Conference kicks off in Canberra on Wednesday, UniSuper’s Peter Chun explains how the fund has developed measurement metrics, and what they really mean for members.
Legal opinion finds super funds won’t escape advice fee deduction red tape
Barrister Bernard Quinn KC says section 99FA of the SIS Act as amended by the government in its Delivering Better Financial Outcomes bill just pays lip service to the recommendations of the Quality of Advice Review, and super funds may still take a “conservative” approach by checking every statement of advice before allowing fee deductions.
The evolving COO: Everything everywhere all at once
As potential future leaders of the Australian superannuation industry, COOs are another outworking of the increased competitive and regulatory pressures. They are now stepping into a leading executive role as agents for growth, resilience, and innovation.
Australia needs more green irons in the fire
It seems nearly every iron ore-related project in the world – including those in Australia currently seeking tens of billions of dollars in investment capital – now claims some sort of green credentials. This is problematic for asset owners, as there are no agreed definitions for “green iron ore”, “green iron” or “green steel”.
Aware Super COO to unleash efficiency after admin in-housing
The role of chief operating officer is assuming greater significance across the industry as major super funds grow and become increasingly complex financial services businesses. Aware Super’s recently appointed COO Sally Collins oversees the agile work practices and human-centred design she says will be critical to better results for members.
