Consulting still part of Russell's 'architect' plans

Traditional asset consulting remains part of Russell Investments’ vision of being an ‘investment architect’ for clients, according to Australian managing director Chris Corneil, despite the impending departure of investment strategy director Andrew Lill, and its decision not to re-tender for some major consulting contracts.

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SuperRatings calls for Government to step in over ERFs

It’s time for the Government to step in to improve handling of the small and lost account balances of super fund members given that self-regulation of the eligible rollover fund (ERF) sector “does not appear to be working”, according to Jeff Bresnahan, managing director of SuperRatings.

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Who are you calling tubby?

When someone is nervous about having to speak in front of lots of people, they are often told to imagine their audience naked. The theory goes that if the crowd looks ridiculous in your mind’s eye, you’ll feel less ridiculous yourself. In a similar spirit, Unbalanced presents a tool for funds managers who are jittery about presenting to an asset consultant. Or more specifically, one of Australia’s most influential asset consultants, JANA gatekeeper-in-chief John Coombe. Sure, a ‘yae’ or ‘nae’ from John can radically transform the future of your business, but picturing him as a pink Teletubbie would have to help calm the nerves.


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Who are you calling tubby?

When someone is nervous about having to speak in front of lots of people, they are often told to imagine their audience naked. The theory goes that if the crowd looks ridiculous in your mind’s eye, you’ll feel less ridiculous yourself. In a similar spirit, Unbalanced presents a tool for funds managers who are jittery about presenting to an asset consultant. Or more specifically, one of Australia’s most influential asset consultants, JANA gatekeeper-in-chief John Coombe. Sure, a ‘yae’ or ‘nae’ from John can radically transform the future of your business, but picturing him as a pink Teletubbie would have to help calm the nerves.

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Don’t rely on markets to sort conflicts of interest

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The financial services industry can not always be trusted to negate its inherent    conflicts of interest, argues the University of Sydney’s MIKE RAFFERTY. In research recently completed for the AIST, Rafferty’s Workplace Research Centre found super members are best served by having their own direct representatives at    the decision-making table. Since the 1950s, the US dollar has carried the following official motto: In God We Trust. It may seem strange that god is invoked to give credibility to the world’s most used currency in a country that has a constitution that separates church and state.


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Don’t rely on markets to sort conflicts of interest

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:”Table Normal”; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:””; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} The financial services industry can not always be trusted to negate its inherent    conflicts of interest, argues the University of Sydney’s MIKE RAFFERTY. In research recently completed for the AIST, Rafferty’s Workplace Research Centre found super members are best served by having their own direct representatives at    the decision-making table. Since the 1950s, the US dollar has carried the following official motto: In God We Trust. It may seem strange that god is invoked to give credibility to the world’s most used currency in a country that has a constitution that separates church and state.

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Time for tailored solutions to group risk

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Elsewhere in this issue, a roundtable of group insurance industry stakeholders came up with a number of ways to enhance Australians’ insurance coverage through group risk products. Reducing hassle and turn-around times for both making an application and receiving payment on a claim were two key suggestions, with delays at the doctors’ end of things pinpointed as an oft-overlooked area for improvement. The creation of more tailored and relevant products was also touted, as was a major education campaign to go with them. The Investment & Financial Services Association (IFSA) is already well advanced on this, writes the Association’s EMMA GRAINGE.


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