Pauline Vamos is considered by those who nominated her as the “superannuation face” of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in regard to the Financial Services Reform (FSR) Act.
Those applying for a licence, or considering whether they need one, will have to admit that ASIC and FSR have been top of mind at their funds in recent times, and more so as the deadline approaches. And it’s been Vamos who has been out there speaking to the media and at conferences to spread ASIC’s message.
“I believe that FSR is changing the shape of the superannuation industry and Vamos’s influence on the practical outworkings of FSR is substantial,” said one nominator. “This has to be one of the most influential and demanding roles in the industry,” added another.
Vamos’s role has been to develop the internal infrastructure to implement the new licensing regime. She has also run the project office and liaised with the industry, a task that requires meeting with 14 to 16 industry groups regularly.
Vamos joined ASIC in May 1998 to implement the Managed Investments Act, and describes this project as similar to FSR, but on a smaller scale. It was, nonetheless, a good learning experience.
For example, she realised afterwards that an electronic application was essential to reduce assessment times and the need for data entry. The move has saved ASIC’s analysts about three hours on each application.
On the super side, Vamos notes that many funds left their FSR applications to the last minute and that there’s been some misunderstandings, particularly about the need to have a responsible officer.
She says: “The bulk of the industry’s applications are coming through now and there’s a lot of panic.”
Her advice to super funds is: “When we call you, it doesn’t mean we don’t think you are any good or that your application is inferior. We are calling you so that we can understand your business and know what to look at.”
With her partner based in Perth, and her job headquartered in Sydney, Vamos does a lot of travelling. But when she’s not at work, she enjoys bush walking and says she’s been doing bits of the Bibulman track in Western Australia and the Great Northern Walk in NSW.
She also loves “chatting” and going to the movies with her two teenage daughters. And as an avid wine collector, she’s always on the lookout for a good Pinot, conceding that when she’s talking to people in the industry, its either about “legislation or red wine”.
