POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Member engagement tops fund CEOs’ priority list
Leaders in the super industry see improvements to member engagement as their top priority after a year of complex new regulatory and compliance requirements, a survey has revealed.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) and PwC CEO survey showed the top three priorities over the next three years for fund CEOs are better engagement between funds and fund members, operational efficiency and post-retirement products.
The survey also found funds want to build on the increase in member satisfaction that has occurred due to strong investment returns in 2012-13 by keeping investment management fees down.
ASFA CEO Pauline Vamos said funds also want to improve investment governance.
"Interestingly, the areas they will now focus more on are active share ownership, sustainability and after-tax reporting," Vamos said.
"The other interesting finding was that around 75 per cent of respondents do not intend to insource their investment management over the next three years," Vamos said.
"The main reasons cited for this were cost, scale and risk appetite. This finding will be surprising to many people as it goes against the trend we have seen in recent years. It shows funds understand that insourcing funds management involves a very different risk profile and needs careful consideration."
Industry leaders have also prioritised operational matters. PwC's David Coogan said CEOs feel confident about complying with the Stronger Super regulation, adding that the majority of the respondents said they had adapted to the new regulations in their business.
"Costs are expected to continue to increase slightly in the next three years as the costs of technology, member engagement and increased regulatory compliance outweigh any savings that may have been realised from the introduction of MySuper and SuperStream," Coogan said.
Recommended for you
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.
With private asset valuations emerging as a key concern for both regulators and the broader market, Apollo Global Management has called on the corporate regulator to issue clear principles on valuation practices, including guidance on the disclosures it expects from market participants.
Institutional asset owners are largely rethinking their exposure to the US, with private markets increasingly being viewed as a strategic investment allocation, new research has shown.
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.
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(%)
