Despite being a growing reservoir of funds under management, this critically important pool of capital is confronting mounting problems collating and disseminating key data in a timely manner.
The ratings house is pinning its growth strategy on a revamped methodology that increases the emphasis on governance to 25 per cent – a timely move considering APRA’s proposed reforms.
UniSuper takes out top SuperRatings Award
The issues raised at the Royal Commission are not new or unique, Jeff Bresnahan said before announcing the SuperRatings Fund of the Year – UniSuper – at a gala dinner in Melbourne last week. “Some organisations seem to have a sense of self-entitlement that overrides members’ interests.”
Bresnahan also said that if the “two commissions” (the Royal Commission and the Productivity Commission” lead the industry to plain vanilla products and services “we may as well pack it in and hand it all back to the Government”.
Kevin O’Sullivan, the UniSuper chief executive, did not engage in political observations, rather thanking his team and board for their hard work which. The big tertiary education sector fund picked up two awards on the night, the other being for the ‘MySuper of the Year’.
QSuper, which won the Fund of the Year for the past two years running, won the ‘Pension of the Year’, while fellow Queensland-based Sunsuper picked up ‘MyChoice Super of the Year’ and ‘Best New Innovation Award’ for its BEAM payments and messaging system which makes it easier for employer members and individuals to contribute.
On the wholesale (rather than institutional) side of the industry, the Lonsec Innovation Award went to Majellan Group and their Lonsec ‘Disruptor Award’ to BetaShares for its 200ETF, a listed vehicle which tracks the performance of the 200 largest Australian listed companies. Lonsec’s ‘Listed Fund Award’ went to the $500 million MCP Master Income Trust, a listed private debt fund launched this year.
