The ESG-driven sections of the super industry are pushing for green investments to no longer be penalised under the Your Future Your Super test, as one fund calls out the “mismatch” between the federal government’s renewable energy agenda and the performance pressures funds are dealing with.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has appointed AustralianSuper’s Paula Benson, chief officer of strategy and corporate affairs as a board director.
Vanguard Super has publicly backed the retention of the annual performance test, as a growing number of funds also warm to the status quo after tweaking their strategic asset allocation to make sure they don’t fail. But while it may keep funds’ compliance officers happy, the current test is not in members’ best interests, argue a number of academics and researchers who advocate for a multi-metric approach.
Retirement is complicated, it frequently doesn’t happen the way we plan or wish, and more people every day are facing the transition from employment to retirement. It’ll be hard for super funds to get financial advice to every member who needs it, but they can work closer with professional advisers.
UniSuper has poured US$400 million ($623 million) into an energy transition and climate opportunities fund, aiming to support the global net zero transition.
The $130 billion UniSuper has selected MetLife as its new insurer, ending a decade-long relationship with TAL.
The CIOs of CSC, VFMC and Spirit Super have urged peers to control – but not be controlled by – risk when approaching portfolio construction, and not be too cautious to put risk back on when the opportunity presents itself.
In the latest development in the so-called ESG war, the US Securities and Exchange Commission caved under various legal threats and postponed its proposed new rules to standardise climate-related disclosures by public companies. With numerous variations between frameworks globally, ESG-conscious investors may find themselves trapped in the climate disclosure matrix for a bit longer.
PGIM Real Estate’s Australian head Steve Bulloch anticipates more challenges to come for some assets in the country’s commercial real estate market this year, as investors deal with easing valuations and higher-for-longer interest rates and the prospect of further write-downs. But for some sectors and specific assets, the opportunities are already emerging and 2024 could prove to be a good vintage.
Iress has completed the sale of the OneVue platform business to ASX-listed Praemium.
ASIC has appointed Greg Yanco as interim CEO, replacing Warren Day who will join the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) on secondment as its executive officer.
As the final quarter of the financial year approaches, super funds have the potential to see a double-digit return in the balanced options, as the median fund delivered 8.8 for the first nine months of FY24, according to SuperRatings.
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