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Funds ditch romance, confront reality on retirement

With the advent of the Retirement Income Covenant (RIC), super funds can finally move forward on the decumulation phase. But they shouldn’t try to “boil the sea.”

Lachlan Maddock | 11th May 2022 | More
Reject passive, return to active for pension funds

Active management will be increasingly important for defined contribution (DC) retirement savings schemes as value-for-fees, expected lower future returns and sustainable investment preferences come to the fore, according to a new MFS white paper.

David Chaplin | 6th May 2022 | More
  • Lessons from a $5 billion fund in the world of ‘bigger is better’

    Life isn’t always easy at the small end of town, but the $5 billion legalsuper is kicking against APRA’s orthodoxy that bigger is nearly always better.

    Lachlan Maddock | 6th May 2022 | More
    Prepare for the might of the giga-fund

    In less than 20 years there will likely be a trillion-dollar super fund. So how will it throw its awesome weight around? It might have been premature to label AustralianSuper our first mega-fund. After all, it gives little room to move when coming up with a descriptor for a fund that will someday manage $1…

    Lachlan Maddock | 29th Apr 2022 | More
  • Advocates, Women in Super, reframe neurodiversity

    More diverse organisations have consistently outperformed those that are less diverse. But neurodiversity is still largely an unknown quantity in many of them. The term “neurodiversity” was first coined by researcher Julie Singer in the late 90s, and popularized by journalist Harvey Bloom. It holds that there is simply “a diversity of human minds and…

    Lachlan Maddock | 8th Apr 2022 | More
    ‘It’s not an automatic win’: Why size won’t come easily to super

    Australia’s super funds are racing to achieve massive size in the understanding that it will create untold benefits for members. But “a little but of circumspection and caution” is required. “People seem to be taking it as a fact that you just need to be bigger, and that it’s obvious you need to be bigger…

    Lachlan Maddock | 6th Apr 2022 | More
    ASIC dumps super ‘insider trading’ probe

    ASIC’s investigation into whether super funds took advantage of inside knowledge when switching investments in early 2020 has ended with the regulator taking no action. The drawn-out saga of ASIC’s investigation into alleged “insider trading” at super funds has come to a close, with the corporate regulator saying it will take no further action against…

    Lachlan Maddock | 6th Apr 2022 | More
    The super wars are over (if you want them to be)

    While Liberals and Labor have sparred for decades, it seems that many Australians believe the ideological conflict waged over superannuation is mostly moot. The super wars have raged unchecked since the introduction of the superannuation guarantee (SG) in the heady days of 1993. But the ideological battles in Parliament and the press have been waged…

    Lachlan Maddock | 30th Mar 2022 | More
    UniSuper’s VC foray a sign of things to come

    UniSuper’s decision to dip its toe into venture capital is all about members. The question is whether the fund will go further down a road that few others have tread.  It’s an investment that would barely move the dial on overall returns, but the $75 million that UniSuper has tipped into early-stage commercialisation manager Uniseed…

    Lachlan Maddock | 25th Mar 2022 | More
  • Open fund reserves for upgrades: AIST

    The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has argued that funds should be permitted to use their operational risk financial reserve (ORFR) to upgrade their systems and prevent future risks earlier. The “blunt” 0.25 per cent of fund capital that funds must hold in their ORFR is now becoming a “very significant sum” for some…

    Lachlan Maddock | 23rd Mar 2022 | More
    Statewide seeds bespoke Apostle fund

    Apostle’s People and Planet fund was tailor-made for Statewide Super’s members – and has interesting implications for an industry trying to meet a new wave of demand for sustainable options.   Two years ago, many institutions were still outsourcing their socially responsible investing (SRI) to AMP Capital or Pendal. But the Boe Pahari controversy saw…

    Lachlan Maddock | 23rd Mar 2022 | More
    Quants get a boost from merger mania

    As funds get bigger and bigger – and the Your Future Your Super (YFYS) performance test bites – they’re rethinking everything from alpha generation to their intrinsic investment philosophies. While the increasing size of super funds will benefit them in unlisted markets – where big funds can increasingly play on the same field as global…

    Lachlan Maddock | 17th Mar 2022 | More