SUPERANNUATION – AUSTRALIA

From bad to worse for AMP: $2.5bn loss, $6.3bn outflows, more to come

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 14-Feb-20

Wealth manager AMP has posted a statutory loss of $2.5bn for the 2019 calendar year, while its underlying profit fell by 32 per cent to $464m. A $2.35bn impairment charge in the first half was the major contributor to the big loss. Meanwhile, AMP’s wealth division recorded net cash outflows of $6.3bn for the year, and CEO Francesco De Ferrari says outflows are likely to be high again in 2020. AMP has advised that its customer remediation program is expected to be completed in 2021.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Age Pension for all beats hike in super

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 13-Feb-20

Mercer has used a submission to the federal government’s review of the retirement income system to call for the superannuation guarantee to remain at 9.5 per cent and to abolish means-testing for the age pension. The super guarantee is legislated to be progressively increase to 12 per cent by 2025, and some Coalition MPs have also called for the increase to be scrapped. Michael Littlewood, who helped design New Zealand’s retirement system, says there are major problems with Australia’s retirement system.

CORPORATES
MERCER INVESTMENTS PTY LTD

Bank concerns don’t apply to us: super funds

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 6-Feb-20

The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has questioned the need to expand the Banking Executive Accountability Regime to include super funds and insurers. ASFA CEO Martin Fahy describes the proposal as an ‘overkill’, and he argues that the super industry is already subject to tough regulation. He adds that the proposal will discourage product innovation and affect funds’ returns. Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh has expressed support for extending the regime beyond the bank sector.

CORPORATES
THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

NAB hit with class action on super rip-off

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Original article by Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 17 : 22-Jan-20

A class action lawsuit will contend that National Australia Bank’s superannuation customers incurred substantial losses due to the bank’s tardiness in shifting them to a MySuper product. Law firm Maurice Blackburn will argue that NAB subsidiaries MLC Nominees and NULIS Nominees breached their duties as superannuation trustees by keeping customers in funds that had higher fees than MySuper products. The allegations were first raised before the Hayne royal commission in 2018.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, MLC NOMINEES, NULIS NOMINEES (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Windfall for super on share upsurge

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Original article by David Rogers, Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 16-Jan-20

Data from SuperRatings shows that the median balanced superannuation fund achieved a return of 13.8 per cent in 2019, for the best calendar-year gain since 2013. SuperRatings’ executive director Kirby Rappell says investors should not expect a similar return in 2020, although he expects the sector to perform well again. Rappell adds that consolidation in the super industry is likely to continue in 2020, and the sustainability of operating expenses will be a key issue for funds of all sizes. The average super fund has returned 7.7 per cent over the last decade.

CORPORATES
SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Tasplan tops superannuation satisfaction, as industry funds continue to lead retail funds

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Jan-20

New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows that industry fund Tasplan had the highest customer satisfaction rating of any super fund in the six months to November 2019, at 73.9%. It was ahead of Unisuper (73.7%), Cbus (73.3%), First State Super (70.3%) and HESTA (70.2%). As a group, industry funds (65.1%) outperformed retail funds (59.5%) in terms of satisfaction, and the gap has widened compared to the same period a year ago. The report’s findings have been obtained from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, compiled by in-depth face-to-face interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, TASPLAN LIMITED, UNISUPER LIMITED, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, FIRST STATE SUPER, HEALTH EMPLOYEES’ SUPERANNUATION TRUST AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Mega super funds to dominate economy

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 16-Dec-19

Rice Warner forecasts that Australia’s superannuation industry will have $7trn worth of assets under management by 2034, compared with $2.7trn at present. The firm also expects the sector to eventually be dominated by a handful of ‘megafunds’. Rice Warner forecasts that there will be at least nine super funds with assets exceeding $100bn within five years, and at least 12 funds with more than $200bn worth of assets by 2034. AustralianSuper’s assets are expected to rise from $150bn to $325bn over the next five years.

CORPORATES
RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, HOST-PLUS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, QSUPER LIMITED, SUNSUPER PTY LTD, AMP SUPERANNUATION LIMITED, VICSUPER PTY LTD, FIRST STATE SUPER, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UNISUPER LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Lift super to 12pc to defuse age time bomb

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 22-Nov-19

AustralianSuper CEO Ian Silk appeared before federal parliament’s economics committee on 21 November, where he emphasised the need to increase the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent. He warned that the legislated increase is necessary to avert the ‘economic time bomb’ of the nation’s ageing population, arguing that the pension system alone is not sufficient to provide Australians with a comfortable retirement. Silk also expressed support for consolidation in the super sector, and the exit of funds that consistently underperform.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Super funds approach double-digit returns, but Chant West urges caution

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 19-Nov-19

Data from Chant West shows that superannuation funds have achieved an average return of 14.3 per cent so far in 2019. The median growth fund gained 12.8 per cent in the first 10 months of the calendar year, after eking out a gain of 0.4 per cent in October. Mano Mohankumar of Chant West says the median growth fund appears to be on track to deliver a double-digit return in 2019, although he warns that the strong returns since the global financial crisis are not sustainable.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD

Satisfaction with performance of Industry Super Funds remains ahead of Retail Funds for 17th year

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Oct-19

New research by Roy Morgan shows that satisfaction with the financial performance of Retail superannuation funds was only 58.7% in the six months to September 2019, compared to 64.1% for Industry Funds and 76.7% for Self-Managed Funds. Retail Fund satisfaction has lagged behind satisfaction with Industry Funds for the last 17 years. These are the latest findings from the September 2019 Roy Morgan Research ‘Superannuation Satisfaction’ report based on around 50,000 interviews with people per annum, including over 30,000 who have superannuation.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED