superannuation

If their momentum holds for a few more weeks, some of Australia’s largest super funds are likely to provide a return of 15 per cent or more for the financial year, the best for at least eight years. According to discussions with the top 10 funds which made the finalists’ list for the upcoming Chant…

It was a budget that will be remembered for its headline deficit more than anything else. For big super funds there was a sigh of relief for the SG and that’s about it. The removal, at long last, of the $450-a-month floor for compulsory super payments has been roundly praised, in recognition that women will…

Last year’s early release scheme for super fund members was a major event for both members and their funds, according to a report by advisory firm EY. For many funds it was an opportunity, too, which was largely missed. The EY report and short video, ‘Rethinking Member Engagement’, says: “As a result of the Government’s…

Bryan Gray, a genuine stalwart of, and major contributor to, the strong position of Australia and New Zealand’s asset servicing sector, has retired. He spent 12 years at State Street followed by nearly 20 years at J.P. Morgan. Gray is the only person to have been chair of the Australian Custodial Services Association twice, in…

People talk about the importance of taking the time to build a platform for any endeavour. If that’s the case for developing a commercial mass-market range of retirement solutions, Allianz and PIMCO have given themselves a head start with their platform – Allianz Retire+. Starting in 2015 in PIMCO’s Sydney office, the notion of putting…

It’s easy to miss the wood from the trees in the mish mash of arguments back and forth about a range of views on what our super system should look like. But in the current melee, the importance of last year’s Retirement Income Review is not being missed. ASFA took the opportunity to publicly release…

If APRA wants to continue to encourage super fund mergers the regulator needs to make some changes to how it goes about its approvals process, according to one chief executive who is going through the process of having a successor fund transfer (TFR). Speaking at last weeks’ annual ASFA conference (on February 11), Leeanne Turner,…

New Zealand investment administrator MMC has acquired the remaining half of Australian administrator IFAA Group from interests associated with its managing director and co-founder Neil Harvey. Harvey, who remains in the managing director role after the deal’s completion, said the firm would continue to look for expansion opportunities outside IFAA’s traditional base of Queensland. He…

As the dust settles on the Government’s Retirement Income Review, the search for the most appropriate and cost-effective strategies for both large groups of people and individuals has resumed, aided by some new academic work which sets principles and rules for big super funds, financial advisers and product providers. Geoff Warren, an associate professor at…

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…