Mercer

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.

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…

Asset owners haven’t been challenged with a sustained crisis in nearly 20 years, and it’s possible they’ll get one just as they make the jump into markets they’re unfamiliar with. Governance will be key. As inflation climbs and market volatility increases, Rich Nuzum, president of Mercer’s investments and retirements business, says that asset owners need…