SUPERANNUATION – AUSTRALIA

Industry funds the likely beneficiaries of proposed superannuation changes

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Jan-19

New findings from Roy Morgan show that the level of satisfaction with the financial performance of industry superannuation funds was 61.8% in the six months to November 2018, compared with 57.2% for retail super funds. Satisfaction with industry funds has increased by 2.6% over the last year, while satisfaction with retail funds has declined by 0.3%. Eight of the top 10 performing funds, based on satisfaction with financial performance, were industry funds over the six months to November. The highest rating was for Catholic Super with 70.5%, followed by Unisuper on 69.7%. The only retail funds to make it into the top 10 were ASGARD with 65.1% and Macquarie with 63.7% satisfaction, but both were below the average of 65.5% for the top 10. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s ‘Satisfaction with Financial Performance of Superannuation in Australia Report’ November 2018, which is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes, including over 30,000 with superannuation.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, CATHOLIC SUPER, UNISUPER LIMITED, ASGARD SUPER, MACQUARIE SUPER

Future Fund’s returns good, not great

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Jan-19

Data from Chant West shows that the federal government’s Future Fund achieved an average return of 10.7 per cent over the seven years to September. This is lower than the returns of major industry superannuation funds over the same period, including AustralianSuper, Hostplus and Cbus. Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia CEO Martin Fahy says the Future Fund would have lower costs and lower net returns if it were to be converted from a sovereign wealth fund into a super fund.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, UNISUPER LIMITED, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD

Industry super roars to the lead

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jan-19

Rice Warner forecasts that industry superannuation funds will hold assets worth $800m in 2020, displacing self-managed super funds as the sector’s largest asset managers. Rice Warner also estimates that industry funds’ assets will top $1bn in 2024 and $1.7trn in 2033. Industry funds will boast a 37 per cent share of the market in 2033, ahead of SMSFs (30 per cent) and retail funds (23 per cent). Industry experts note that employers are becoming more willing to embrace industry funds, while the fallout from the financial services royal commission is expected to accelerate the shift from retail funds to industry funds.

CORPORATES
RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VANGUARD INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Super members on track for first loss since 2011

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Dec-18

Data from SuperRatings shows that the median balanced superannuation fund has gained just 1.8 per cent so far in 2018. The firm says the median fund is likely to post a negative return for the full year, after shedding 3.1 per cent in October and 0.6 per cent in November. SuperRatings’ executive director Kirby Rappell says the market volatility of recent months is likely to continue in 2019. However, SuperRatings notes that balanced funds have delivered strong returns over a 10-year period.

CORPORATES
SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

NAB insists its breaches were not criminal acts

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Dec-18

National Australia Bank has conceded that its MLC Nominees subsidiary had breached the Corporations Act and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act. The breaches related to so-called plan service fees that the superannuation trustee company had imposed on customers despite not providing any services. NAB has acknowledged in court filings that MLC Nominees’ actions constituted misleading or deceptive conduct. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission launched legal action against NAB in September.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC NOMINEES, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NULIS NOMINEES AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

ASIC goes to court in AMP document hunt

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 18-Dec-18

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission is seeking a court order to compel AMP to provide access to documents relating to the fees-for-no-service scandal. AMP contends that the transcripts of Clayton Utz’s interviews with AMP employees regarding the scandal are subject to legal professional privilege, which ASIC disputes. The financial services royal commission had been told that Clayton Utz’s report on the scandal had been altered following discussions with key AMP executives.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CLAYTON UTZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Super watchdog failing to bite back

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 17-Dec-18

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s proposed changes to the member outcomes test for superannuation funds’ trustees have been criticised by industry bodies. Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees CEO Eva Scheerlinck says the revised standards should have given greater priority to net investment returns, noting that the purpose of the reforms was to address the issue of super funds that consistently underperform. A draft report from the Productivity Commission in June had advocated a much stricter outcomes test.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AMP SUPERANNUATION LIMITED, NM SUPERANNUATION

Industry Superannuation Funds increase satisfaction lead

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Nov-18

New findings from Roy Morgan show that the level of satisfaction with the financial performance of industry superannuation funds was 61.8% in the six months to October 2018, compared with 58.2% for retail super funds. Satisfaction with industry funds has increased by 2.7% over the last year, compared to a gain of 1.3% points for retail funds. The only area where retail funds have higher satisfaction than industry funds is for balances below $5,000, where they lead marginally with 49.0% compared to 48.6%. However, this segment is of little current value as it only holds 0.1% of the total market value, despite having 10.9% of customers. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s "Satisfaction with Financial Performance of Superannuation in Australia Report October 2018", which is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes, including over 30,000 with superannuation.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Superannuation unlikely to be adequate for most workers in retirement

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that only 18% of Australians aged 14+ with superannuation contributed beyond the compulsory level in the year to October 2018. This compares with 23% in the year to October 2009. The proportion of male workers who contribute to their superannuation beyond the compulsory level has fallen from 24.5% to 18% over this period, while the proportion of female workers who make additional contributions has fallen from 21.1% to 18.1%. The survey also shows that 35.2% of Australians in the 55-64 age group make additional super contributions well ahead of workers aged 65+ (30.7%) and 45 to 54 year olds (24.4%). Just 4.0% of those aged 14-24 make additional contributions. The Single Source Survey is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own homes, including over 23,000 workers with superannuation.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Super hit in $50bn plunge

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Original article by David Rogers, James Kirby
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Oct-18

The S&P/ASX 200 has shed almost seven per cent so far in 2018, including a fall of 10.8 per cent since August. The big sell-down on 25 October will impact on superannuation funds’ returns, with balanced funds having lost about 2.5 per cent so far in 2018-19. SuperRatings MD Jeff Bresnahan says most super fund members who have chosen the balanced option can expect the value of their super to fall by around four per cent in response to the sell-off.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD, DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, ALPHABET INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, AUSTRALIA. FUTURE FUND MANAGEMENT AGENCY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD