superannuation

Angela Ashton, founder and director of asset consultant Evergreen Consultants, suggests that TINA – or ‘There is No Alternative,’ to equities, that is – will be one of the driving themes of 2021 for investors. After outperforming the Chant West superannuation benchmarks, delivering a return of 4.93% from its balanced option for 2020, Evergreen now…

Investment and superannuation service provider Mainstream Group (ASX: MAI) reported a 20 per cent yearly rise in funds under administration this week. The company, which has broadened its services from traditional administration including application forms and tax reporting, to complementary businesses lines like custody and superannuation, is riding a tailwind of structural growth. Founded in…

After a lifetime in super administration, David Orford has realised another long-held ambition. This week he announced the final piece in what he believes is the best retirement solution in Australia, which will be manufactured in conjunction with Generation Life. Optimum Pensions, controlled by the Orford Foundation, which is the beneficiary of most of Orford’s…

The recently announced Your Future, Your Super proposed performance test has raised concerns on the potential of unintended consequences in the government’s pursuit of better performing funds. Clearly, the government is squarely focused on the relationship of fees and performance against a standard asset allocation framework. However, many pundits believe the current proposal would see…

It was surprising to hear that one of the Platinum Asset Management’s top performing managers, Joseph Lai, Portfolio Manager of the Platinum Asia Fund, had left the firm over Christmas. The fund had performed exceptionally well in 2020 and was a highlight of an otherwise difficult year for the ‘value’ shop which saw the trend…

The recent surge in the market value of Bitcoin (BTC) has made headlines this holiday season as the underlying structure of the market continues to attract more institutional investors. Recent announcements from global leading fund managers, corporations and insurance companies have highlighted a seismic shift in an investor base focused on Bitcoin’s value proposition of…

The good news for IOOF (ASX: IFL) following the battering it took from shareholders last month is that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has approved its MLC takeover. The bad news is that the remaining class action against it has been funded. The ACCC said on Monday it would not oppose IOOF’s $1.4…

2021 may be shaping up as the ‘Year of the Financial Adviser’. After what has been a tumultuous and stressful few years for the industry, promises of a more streamlined regulatory framework may finally be coming to fruition. Assistant Minster for Superannuation and Financial Services, Jane Hume, and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg had a business day…

It’s been a busy few years for the financial advice industry and its regulators, including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Yet if the past week is anything to go by, things are only likely to be get busier in 2021. November has seen a series of announcements, submissions and potentially wide-ranging changes to…

There were no recommendations in the Retirement Income Review final report, and nor did there need to be. In the highly charged political environment around super, there was sufficient evidence for the Government to do what it wants. Michael Callaghan, the chair, and his two panelists, Carolyn Kay and Deborah Ralston, deliver more than 600…