Mercer

While there’s a perception that defined benefit funds have mostly vanished from the earth, they still manage a hefty chunk of Australia’s pension savings and DC funds can learn a lot from them in their efforts to solve the retirement problem for their members

The chief investment officer of New Zealand’s largest non-government fund manager will leave at the end of this year after it revealed new potential arrangements with Mercer and BlackRock.

One of Australia’s largest retail super funds will be hauled before the court over allegations it engaged in greenwashing of products in what will likely be a test case for the practice.

Much of the work Willis Towers Watson does for Australia’s largest allocators is now around investment governance. But the tyranny of distance means the local scene can be a bit of an “echo chamber”.

There’s no end in sight for super fund consolidation, and even top performing funds are merging in an effort to keep up. But what gets lost in the debate is what members think of it all.

While Australia’s superannuation system is the envy of most of the world, it still needs to move from helping people accumulate money to helping them spend it.

Dotted with various government funds, the Pacific Islands has emerged as a competitive space for NZ and Australian-based investment advisers.

Until now, Japanese funds have largely been bond and cash investors. As they expand into real assets, Frontier wants to own that consulting niche.

Mercer Super Trust’s merger with Westpac’s superannuation assets will prepare the retail fund for a new era of competition in Australia’s rapidly consolidating super sector.

Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) is creating a two-speed system in unlisted property where the biggest funds are forced offshore and the smallest must play in their own backyard. That might soon change.