News

Bryan Gray, a genuine stalwart of, and major contributor to, the strong position of Australia and New Zealand’s asset servicing sector, has retired. He spent 12 years at State Street followed by nearly 20 years at J.P. Morgan. Gray is the only person to have been chair of the Australian Custodial Services Association twice, in…

David Knox, Mercer senior partner, actuary and founder of the global pensions systems index, threw down a challenge to the Retirement Income Review to look at a ‘universal pension’ for all Australians. He is now talking to the industry. Knox, the lead author of the Mercer Global Pension Index, says Australia, which already has one…

People talk about the importance of taking the time to build a platform for any endeavour. If that’s the case for developing a commercial mass-market range of retirement solutions, Allianz and PIMCO have given themselves a head start with their platform – Allianz Retire+. Starting in 2015 in PIMCO’s Sydney office, the notion of putting…

It’s easy to miss the wood from the trees in the mish mash of arguments back and forth about a range of views on what our super system should look like. But in the current melee, the importance of last year’s Retirement Income Review is not being missed. ASFA took the opportunity to publicly release…

They may be late to the party compared with Europe but companies and investors in the Asia Pacific region have taken to ESG principles and practices in a big way. They are particularly concerned about ‘greenwashing’, according to BNP Paribas. In a webinar for the region’s media earlier this month (February 5) three ESG specialists…

Investors should increase allocations to active management strategies against an increasingly uncertain global backdrop, according to a new Willis Towers Watson (WTW) report. It is a “cyclically fertile ground for alpha”. The WTW analysis, ‘Outlook 2021’, says “skilled active management offers growing value for money” as a number of factors converge to add risk to…

New Zealand investment administrator MMC has acquired the remaining half of Australian administrator IFAA Group from interests associated with its managing director and co-founder Neil Harvey. Harvey, who remains in the managing director role after the deal’s completion, said the firm would continue to look for expansion opportunities outside IFAA’s traditional base of Queensland. He…

Maritime Super, the 53-year-old $5.8 billion industry fund for maritime and waterside workers, plans to merge its investments with those of Hostplus, the 35-year-old $53 billion industry fund for the hospitality industry, but retain its separate board, self-administration and branding. The announcement last week (February 11) followed earlier and lengthy discussions between Maritime and Mine…

The decline in the total number of qualified financial advisers accelerated towards the end of last year, at a time when the Government and advice industry itself are grappling to produce more affordable advice for the general population. The December quarter’s report from Adviser Ratings, published last week (February 3), indicates an industry sector approaching…

As the dust settles on the Government’s Retirement Income Review, the search for the most appropriate and cost-effective strategies for both large groups of people and individuals has resumed, aided by some new academic work which sets principles and rules for big super funds, financial advisers and product providers. Geoff Warren, an associate professor at…

Real asset investors are turning to face the strange environment of 2021 as technological and social trends mix with a global pandemic to fast-forward fundamental changes, according to the latest AMP Capital market outlook. “Disruption has accelerated changes underway in modern living – and the pandemic is still far from over,” the AMP Capital report…

David Coogan notches up his 30th straight CMSF conference this May, at which he resigns from the finance, risk and compliance committee of AIST, and accepts another round of grateful applause for his services to the super industry and heads into semi-retirement. When he attended the first CMSF in 1990, held almost as an act…