March 2024
27Mar

Australia. New Law Boosts Affordable, Accessible Financial Advice

Today, the Albanese Government has introduced the first tranche of legislation to deliver its comprehensive package of reforms to ensure Australians have access to quality and affordable financial advice. There are over five million Australians at or approaching retirement who need assistance to navigate the pension and superannuation systems. Unfortunately, the average cost of financial advice puts professional advice out of reach for many Australians. The Treasury Laws Amendment (Delivering Better Financial Outcomes and Other Measures) Bill 2024 implements reforms which...

March 27, 2024
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January 2024
31Jan

Australia regulator scrutinises pension funds over unlisted asset pricing

Australia's prudential regulator said on Wednesday it will review how sections of the A$2.5 trillion ($1.7 trillion) pension fund sector value unlisted assets and that it is already working with several funds whose practices need to improve. As part of its supervision priorities for the next six months, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority said it will conduct a "deep dive review" into valuation practices at a number of large and mid-sized pension funds. The unnamed funds have material holdings of unlisted...

January 31, 2024
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December 2023
01Dec

Australia pension funds call for reforms to encourage green energy investment at home

Australian pension funds called on Friday for the government to enact reforms that would make it easier to invest in domestic renewable energy projects and warned that without action investors would opt for more compelling overseas projects. Australia's electricity transmission network, batteries and sustainable aviation fuel are three areas where simplified planning, subsidised finance and other regulatory changes could catalyse investment, according to a report released by eight major pension funds. Changes could quickly unlock A$4 billion ($2.7 billion) worth of...

December 1, 2023
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November 2023
27Nov

Australian pension fund makes £5.25bn commitment to UK

Calls for UK pension schemes to invest more in the economy have been renewed following the news that Australian pension fund, Aware Super, is looking to direct a A$10bn (£5.25bn) investment commitment in the UK and Europe. Announcing the investment at the Global Investment Summit, Aware Super said that it has plans to expand its assets under management, with international expansion into the UK a key strategy aimed at achieving that goal. The fund, which officially opened its first international office...

November 27, 2023
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October 2023
18Oct

Australia pension fund plans up to $1.3 bln in clean energy investment

Australia's third-largest pension fund expects to invest up to A$2 billion ($1.3 billion) in a venture specialising in smaller-scale solar and battery installations as the country overhauls its electricity network to produce clean energy. Aware Super, which manages A$160 billion, announced on Wednesday a A$300 million partnership with Birdwood Energy to finance distributed renewable energy projects, and expects its investment to grow to up to A$2 billion as more projects become ready for financing. The partnership's planned investments in smaller-scale projects,...

October 18, 2023
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September 2023
29Sep

Motivated Saving: The Impact of Projections on Retirement Contributions

By George Smyrnis, Hazel Bateman, Loretti Dobrescu, Ben R. Newell & Susan Throp Projections of future benefits can assist pension plan participants prepare for retirement. Here we measure the effects of projections of retirement incomes and lump sum balances on voluntary contributions and plan interactions of retirement savers. Data from a two-year field trial in a large Australian pension plan show that the frequency and average amount of participants’ voluntary contributions and interactions with the plan rose significantly in the...

September 29, 2023
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27Sep

Comparing ESG regulation globally remains elusive – report

Comparing global regulatory demands on ESG funds will continue to be elusive, according to a regulatory update from ISS ESG published Sept. 21. Experts at the Institutional Shareholder Services' sustainable investment arm reviewed current and proposed regulations in the European Union, U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, and surmised "that navigating the emerging regimes will remain a challenge for the foreseeable future," the 2023 Global Regulatory Update said. It noted that two major sustainability reporting standards were finalized in 2023:...

September 27, 2023
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22Sep

The Future of Global Retirement

By Andrew Evans & Will Wynne Smart is a world-leading retirement technology provider. Our mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing, across all generations, around the world. Launched in 2015, our technology platform – Keystone – serves the needs of retirement savers globally, and we are now active on four continents. Keystone is specifically designed to help governments and financial services organisations to serve their citizens' and customers' retirement saving and spending needs. Smart’s team of engineers, researchers and user...

September 22, 2023
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05Sep

Australian regulator warns pension funds

Australian pension funds need to improve how they value private equity, the sector’s regulator said on Monday after a review into the sector’s treatment of Canva, an Australian technology start-up whose lofty valuation tumbled in 2022. Sydney-headquartered software firm Canva hit a peak valuation of $40bn in late 2021, only to be revised sharply lower to $25.5bn last August amid a downturn in technology stocks. Major funds including Aware Super and Hostplus were investors. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on...

September 5, 2023
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August 2023
21Aug

Australia’s $1.5 trln pension sector invests in debt again

Australia's A$2.4 trillion ($1.54 trillion) pension sector grew its investments in local and foreign debt by more than A$20 billion over the past year as higher yields burnished an asset class overlooked in a country where equities traditionally rule. The two largest pension funds grew fixed income investments in their primary vehicles, holding bulk of the pensions, in the last financial year. For the A$300 billion AustralianSuper, the country's largest fund, its fixed income allocation hit the highest level since...

August 21, 2023
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