AIST

While the best financial interests’ duty (BFID) has seen some super funds think twice about ESG,reconciling ESG and responsible investment with best financial interests’ duty isn’t the hurdle some think. One of the more obtuse changes under Your Future Your Super (YFYS) was the insertion of the word “financial” into “best (financial) interests’ duty”. While…

While big super is all in on its newly-acquired nation building goals, a hint of caution about member outcomes pervaded last week’s AIST Superannuation Investment conference. Industry super funds have been on a decade-long high, with a reputation boosted by their low cost, robust returns, and their easy passage through the Hayne royal commission. But…

Nobody has a crystal ball, but you don’t need one to know that things could be more difficult from here on out. For some funds, it’s back to “investing 101.” “This sort of environment does give you the opportunity to really assess your portfolio in terms of whether everything is working as you expect,” Andrew…

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…

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…

The inquiry into common ownership has given us that rarest of things: a moment of bipartisan stupidity. There are so many wonderful ways to waste taxpayer money. You can use it to pay for business-class flights to Canberra, or Craig Kelly-style political stunts, or even give it away to profitable multinational corporations in the middle…

Supported by record retail inflows, ESG-focused investing has, finally, become ‘the norm’, according to panelists at least two of the sessions at last week’s (August 31-September 2) AIST ASI conference. But one of the interesting, most recent, trends within this trend, is how climate change action and inaction has given a very short-term focus to…

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…

The superannuation industry is deeply divided over whether the government’s decision to change the super early release rules is really in the interest of the super fund members.

The measure allows Australians to apply via myGov for access of up to $10,000 of their superannuation from April this year and an additional $10,000 from July 1 2020 for another three months.