AustralianSuper

Australia’s superannuation funds are now parking member money further and further away from their old backyard. But a more divisive world presents them with challenges they’ve not faced before. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the opening of ASFA’s 2022 conference was dominated by conversations usually reserved for the war room. The rapid divestment from Russia –…

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…

Plenty of big super funds have announced their intention to dump their Russian assets, and the government wants them to. But saying do svidanya is harder than they thought. From a certain angle, there’s a lot of Russia in the super system. Once ruled by unapologetic socialists, they’ve both become capitalistic in the aftermath of…

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…

In the aftermath of Your Future Your Super (YFYS), members of dud funds still aren’t moving their super. And it’s not clear what the government and regulators can do about it. It sometimes seems that so much time was spent on implementing the contentious YFYS reforms that the question of what would happen to members…

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 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…

Labor wants to “super-charge” the Australian economy by putting our largest pool of capital to work both at home and away. But on Your Future, Your Super, they won’t be throwing the baby out with the bath water. The Your Future Your Super (YFYS) reforms represent one of the most daring political plays by the…