Super

AustralianSuper will build its financial penalty war chest from its administration reserve instead of new member fees, but has left the door open to future admin fee hikes. AustralianSuper has changed its Trust Deed to include a right for its trustee to be paid a limited “Trustee Risk Reserve Fee” (TRRF) in light of the…

Mercer has proposed a slew of tax changes to address the super system’s “inherent bias towards high income earners” and reduce the gender pension gap. Under Mercer’s proposed changes, individuals with balances over $5 million would be required to reduce their balance to that amount and those over the age of 75 would be required…

Helen Hewett, one of the superannuation industry’s finest leaders, the mental health sector’s finest battlers and the women’s movement’s finest warriors has died. When she became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2019, her first thought, she said at the time, was to how proud her parents would have been. The last…

Australia’s superannuation system is leading the world in pensions, but the broader market is still missing opportunities on stewardship and technology. The Thinking Ahead Institute’s 2022 Global Pension Assets Study has named Australia the world’s number one pension market, with 20-year pension asset growth of 11.3 per cent per annum in US dollar terms. The…

The two funds have now committed to exploring a proper merger after announcing a pooled superannuation trust (PST) arrangement in 2021 that drew the ire of members of the Morrison Government. Hostplus and Maritime Super have signed a memorandum of understanding and will commence joint due diligence with an intention to merge in 2023, with…

ASIC’s investigation into claims of insider trading at super funds keeps getting bigger as the regulator tries to ensure that “trustees are not abusing their positions.” ASIC’s investigation into so-called insider trading at super funds had previously examined the switching behaviour of 67 trustees and executives, excluding all but four of them from its investigation…

AustralianSuper will have $80 billion managed by external managers over the next few years as it eyes larger allocations to key emerging markets like India and China. AustralianSuper currently has $50 billion managed by external managers, a figure that will swell to some $80 billion over the next few years as the fund races towards…

While profit-to-member funds have been given the go-ahead to build reserves from new fees on members, Equity Trustees believes that fund shareholders should pony up instead. The issue of so-called “$12 trustees” has leapt to prominence in recent months as super funds flocked to courts to get the green light to build capital reserves through…

The $60 billion industry fund has appointed Calvert and Parametric to implement sustainable screens across its real assets portfolio. Rest has awarded an enhanced ESG mandate to Parametric and Calvert to provider further diversification to its Sustainable Growth ethical investment option. The mandate will see Rest implement ethical and sustainable screens and tilts across its…

The Morrison Government has so-called “$12 trustees” in its crosshairs after they amended trust deeds to levy members for potential penalties. But APRA believes funds might collapse without them. The Morrison Government’s amendment to Section 56 of the SIS Act was intended to prevent super funds from paying penalties using member money, but – as…

A prospective Labor government would strike out Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s proxy advice reforms – if Parliament doesn’t do it first. The proxy advice reforms will in be Labor’s crosshairs as Parliament resumes, with shadow minister for financial affairs Stephen Jones calling them “one of the worst policies I have seen in my 10 years in…

Opposition to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s proxy advice reforms is growing, with one key Liberal senator questioning his use of the regulations power and warning of a possible disallowance. While not disagreeing with the reforms in principle, senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells – head of the standing committee for scrutiny of delegated legislation – questioned why Frydenberg had…