Despite being a growing reservoir of funds under management, this critically important pool of capital is confronting mounting problems collating and disseminating key data in a timely manner.
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.
Chant West announces its super fund awards finalists
The finalists for the Chant West 2017 Super Fund Awards are being announced today. The awards – the industry’s most prestigious – span 12 categories, including Super and Pension Funds of the Year. They will be presented at a black-tie dinner at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom on May 24.
The finalists for Super Fund of the Year are AustralianSuper, CareSuper, First State Super, HESTA, HOSTPLUS, QSuper, REST, Sunsuper, UniSuper and VicSuper.
The finalists for Pension Fund of the Year are AustralianSuper, Colonial First State, First State Super, MLC, QSuper, REST, Sunsuper, TelstraSuper, UniSuper and VicSuper.
Funds that have been nominated in four or more categories are AMP, AustralianSuper, BT, CareSuper, First State Super, Hostplus, MLC / Plum, QSuper, REST, Sunsuper, TelstraSuper, UniSuper and VicSuper.
The awards are sponsored by insurer AIA Australia and administrator Link Group.
“We rated about 190 super funds and 100 pension funds in late 2016 in preparation for this year’s awards,” says Chant West principal, Warren Chant. “For super funds, this involves scoring them on about 120 factors under our six main criteria.”
Funds are scored on each of these criteria, applying the weights shown in the table below to arrive at the overall scores. The two most important criteria – investments and member services – together account for 60% of a fund’s overall rating.
“Our starting point in deciding the finalists in the specialist awards category is to consider the top 10 to 15 scores for the relevant criteria from our ratings process. So, for example, the finalists for the Best Fund: Member Services are those that scored highest on that criterion alone,” Chant says.
“Our research team then debates those scores to see whether they truly reflect our view of the funds given our experience and knowledge of them. In some cases, the debate causes us to revisit our scores, and may result in a change to our rankings.”
The process is applied to each award category, and senior management also review the entire process for its robustness and consistency.
For a complete list of finalists and more information, visit www.chantwest.com.au
