superannuation

The NZ Government will release climate risk scenario guidance for the financial and corporate sectors by year-end to support impending new carbon reporting standards. Alex White, Ministry for the Environment (MFE) sustainable finance team leader, told a funds industry gathering in Auckland last week that the in-production scenario analyses would help NZ investors better understand…

The rhetoric was similar, though not quite as fiery. But the audience was different. A lot has changed since the first CMSF, held symbolically, in Wollongong. In 1990, Wollongong, NSW, was still referred to as the ‘steel city’. BHP had only begun to shut down its furnaces in Australia. Labor was in power federally and…

Club Plus Super, the NSW-based industry fund representing primarily the employees of licensed clubs, has elected AustralianSuper as its preferred merger partner. In a joint announcement last week (May 13), Stefan Strano, the chief executive of Club Plus, said that exploring a merger was in the best interest of members. The funds have signed a…

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,…