No end in sight for super fight By Lachlan Maddock 28 April 2021
A barrage of criticism has seen the Morrison government make major alterations to its Your Future, Your Super reforms. But by backing down from a fight, can they really avoid it?
The government’s sweeping changes to the YFYS reforms are likely to be met with much relief from within the superannuation industry. The indices against which funds will be benchmarked have been modified to ensure that allocations to infrastructure don’t see them unfairly penalised, while administration fees will now also be included in the performance test.
But it’s an abrupt about-face for a government that just months ago was insisting that it was impossible to objectively measure the impact that admin fees had on returns.
Paradice appoints insto distribution head 1 minute read 28 April 2021
Boutique fundie Paradice Investment Management has appointed a new head of institutional distribution as its new emerging markets strategy gathers steam.
Stephen Bramley will step into the role of institutional distribution head. He previously spent more than nine years as APAC head of distribution at Pacific Current Group and has held senior distribution roles at Mercer, Russell Investments and MLC.
“We are delighted to welcome someone of Stephen’s calibre to the Paradice team. His institutional distribution experience across multi-manager, asset consulting and boutique managers is quite unique, and we are glad to have him on board,” said managing director and founder .
Moelis launches rebrand amid global push By Lachlan Maddock 26 April 2021
Moelis will rebrand to reflect its increasing focus on asset management activities and its status as a global company.
Moelis – which was founded in 2009 in partnership with NYSE-listed Moelis & Company – will change its name to MA Financial Group in a move that it believes will “better reflect” its activities as a “diversified financial services company, across financial disciplines and geographies.”
“When Moelis & Company established a partnership with a talented group of Australian executives back in 2009, I had no doubt it would grow to be a great success,” said Ken Moelis, chairman and founder of Moelis & Company.
Super funds fire climate warning shot By Lachlan Maddock 26 April 2021
The powerful Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has warned that companies are “moving too slowly” on climate and that it will vote against directors who don’t lift their game.
ACSI warned that it would start voting against directors of companies who have fallen short on managing climate-related risks, saying “climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing companies and investors today.”
“Our active and constructive engagement with ASX200 companies has led to major improvements in company practices – but there is much more to be done to address climate risk,” said ACSI boss Louise Davidson.