POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Royal Commission confirms superannuation start date
The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has confirmed that it will begin its superannuation-focused hearings in Melbourne on 6 August.
The Royal Commission sent formal notification of the Round 5 hearings today but has not yet detailed who is listed to appear.
However, letters sent by the Royal Commission to superannuation funds suggest fund executives and directors will, amongst other things, have to explain to the Royal Commission their travel and accommodation expenses over the past five years together with how those expenditures benefited members.
Correspondence received by superannuation funds and sighted by Super Review has confirmed the Royal Commission has requested highly specific information about administration expenses.
The information being sought by the Royal Commission will succeed in having funds reveal not only what they pay their most senior executives but also what has been spent by those executives in terms of travel and entertainment.
Included in the range of expenses specified in the Royal Commission documentation are “entertainment, accommodation, airfares and taxis and parking”.
The Royal Commission has also sought information on marketing expenses “including brand development, sponsorships, advertising, or other marketing for the purpose of recruitment or member retention”.
Where marketing expenses are concerned, the Royal Commission has sought details of service providers over the past five years, together with “the process by which marketing expenses are approved and which individuals have authority to approve such expenses”.
It then asks the funds to “set out the process by which the benefits or returns obtained in relation to marketing expenses are assessed, including any auditing, benchmarking or other appraisals to assess the value of such expenditure and the performance of the relevant service provider”.
The Royal Commission documentation then asks the funds to explain how the expenditures satisfied the so-called sole-purpose test within the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act and with respect to whether they were in the best interests of members.
Recommended for you
Michael Lovett, who left the investment firm just three months after launching its Vanguard Super offering, has taken up a chief executive role at an Australian asset manager.
The Central Bank of Ireland has granted the approval of Equity Trustees’ exit from its Irish operations, with the transaction expected to be complete on 30 April.
Super returns continued to climb in March, raising hopes of delivering double-digit returns by June depending on the performance of this next quarter.
The dedicated super fund for emergency services and Victorian government employees is under fire for unpaid entitlements to transport employees, which could exceed $40 million.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
73.88 3 y p.a(%)
2
Hills International
63.66 3 y p.a(%)
3
Acadian Global Equity Long Short Class A
36.33 3 y p.a(%)
4
CFS FC Acadian Global Equity Long Short
35.96 3 y p.a(%)
5
DomaCom 4/27 Crombie Avenue Bundall QLD 4217 Australia
32.23 3 y p.a(%)
Add new comment