Sequoia restructures reporting lines, announces staff reduction
Sequoia Financial Group will streamline its divisional structure from four to two reporting divisions, as well as reduce headcount by 10 per cent.
iExtend gains AFSL
Life insurance policy extender iExtend has gained its AFSL after ASIC accepted a court enforceable undertaking from the business to apply for a license earlier this year.
Consumer group calls for better scam protection from super funds
Super Consumers Australia warned that more work needs to be done from funds to mitigate risks of super scams, as the advocate group’s recent survey found 81 per cent of Australians want their funds to provide more active protection.
Australian Ethical appoints Fiona Reynolds to super board
Australian Ethical has appointed Fiona Reynolds, former CEO of UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, to its super board.
‘Astonishing and highly concerning’: Funds still lag on RIC response
Super funds claim uncertain advice regulation is holding them back from fulfilling their Retirement Income Covenant obligations, as regulators once again take them to task for an underwhelming response. The Conexus Institute notes funds have yet to get their act together on collecting enough member data to properly inform a strategy.
‘No evidence’ of further unauthorised access in Iress breach
Iress has concluded its internal investigation into the unauthorised access of Iress’ user space on GitHub as first announced on 13 May 2024.
Australia has world-class fund practices, but one Kiwi does it better
Australian sovereign and super funds will be pleased to find out that time spent on building good investment practices has not gone unnoticed, as a new report hails them as global leaders when it comes to having rigorous governance, sustainability and resilience frameworks. But they still have something to learn from their counterpart across the ditch, NZ Super.
HESTA MySuper delivers 9.1pc return in FY24
The $83 billion HESTA has returned 9.1 per cent for its MySuper Balanced Growth option in the 2024 financial year, surpassing the 7.62 per cent annual return in the past decade.
REST MySuper returns 8.67pc in FY24
Retail workers industry fund REST has posted an 8.67 per cent return for its default MySuper product in the 2024 financial year. The product has had a 6.97 per cent return per annum in the past decade.
MetLife Foundation offers $115k grant to First Nations Foundation
First Nations Foundation has received $155,000 (US$100,000) from MetLife Foundation to continue strengthening the financial knowledge of First Nations women.
‘Big and patient’: ART harnesses scale to post 11.3pc return
As Australian Retirement Trust unveils its FY24 investment results, head of investment strategy Andrew Fisher says the $300 billion fund hasn’t wavered from its view that a soft landing is the most likely economic scenario, and that it will continue to exploit its scale and discipline and remain patient to meet long-term objectives.
How ART plans to execute ‘no impact’ member shift to high growth
As Australian Retirement Trust prepares to shift around 1.4 million of its 2.3 million members into a MySuper strategy that is equivalent to its high growth investment option, the option’s 11.3 per cent 12-month return announced on Sunday illustrates the potential long-term benefits that may accrue to members who are moved.
