POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Equal representation on boards benefits sector: Fiona Reynolds
The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has defended the equal representation of employers and employees on the boards of not-for-profit superannuation funds, which have been publicly criticised for being union dominated.
Opening the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF) in Brisbane, AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds claimed the not-for-profit equal representation model had been placed under attack by vested interests.
It was a claim backed by AIST president Gerard Noonan, who claimed the equal representation model was capable of withstanding more scrutiny than that applying to the 'for-profit' sector.
However, it was Reynolds who argued that the governance model applying to banks and other financial institutions were not suited to the not-for-profit funds sector.
She said the requirements with respect to not-for-profit funds were "fundamentally different", but nonetheless delivered transparency and disclosure.
"Profit before member interests is the ulterior motive of our critics," she said.
"The benefits which flow from the not-for-profit sector are clear for everyone to see, and were achieved via equal employee and employer representation on trustee boards," Reynolds said.
She said those who were arguing for change had yet to provide justification for their claims.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
Australia’s corporate regulator has been told it must quickly modernise its oversight of private markets, after being caught off guard by the complexity, size, and opacity of the asset class now dominating institutional portfolios.
ASIC chair Joe Longo has delivered a blunt warning to superannuation trustees, cautioning that board-level ignorance of member complaints and internal failings will not be tolerated and could trigger enforcement action.
ART has cautioned regulators against imposing overlapping obligations on superannuation funds already operating under APRA’s comprehensive framework, saying that additional oversight should be “carefully targeted to address potential gaps in other parts of the market”.
The super fund has appointed Simone Van Veen as chief member officer.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
