Super

The ASIC report into death benefit claims revealing the devastating impact of poor industry practices on grieving Australians has again highlighted the pressing need for change. While some funds have taken up the cudgels, others are still playing hardball on improving their service offering.

A Retirement Income Covenant obligation notwithstanding, there is still a paucity of these complex products on offer. The Advice Through Superannuation draft legislation might offer a way forward.

The Coalition has pledged to give young Australians access to up to $50,000 in their retirement savings to get a toehold in the housing market. Super funds say it will only further inflate property prices.

In the wake of the Hayne Royal Commission, industry funds reigned supreme. It has taken more than five years, but the for-profit funds are finally back in the game as the not for profits increasingly struggle to service members nearing or in retirement.

While the White House’s economic nostrums are rattling the markets, the long-term outlook for commercial and investment relations between the two countries is positive, with a recent summit in the US further cementing ties.

The ratings house is pinning its growth strategy on a revamped methodology that increases the emphasis on governance to 25 per cent – a timely move considering APRA’s proposed reforms.

While equities came out of the blocks like Usain Bolt in January, propelled by strong domestic and international share markets, a White House committed to tariffs and slowing interest rate cuts could still derail investment returns in 2025.

You can’t try and forecast every twist and turn, but you can prepare your portfolio to handle them. Brighter Super is piling into active equities and eyeing more infrastructure investments to navigate a volatile macro backdrop.

UK pension giant Nest will soon join a roster of industry super fund shareholders as it takes a 10 per cent stake in IFM Investors and looks to grow its private market allocations.

There are fewer super funds, and associations that represent them, than ever before. But multiple layers of industry representation working at cross-purposes means that true unity has remained elusive, according to the Financial Services Council.

After a year that will live in infamy for the construction industry fund, Cbus has announced double digit returns across two of its products. Meanwhile, CIO Brett Chatfield is scrutinising the potential market impact of Trump’s policy agenda.

Super funds will soon be subject to mandatory service standards aimed at improving member experience following a series of administration failures at funds like Cbus and AustralianSuper.