DOC16 - The line up and a few questions for Jeff Bresnahan
Jeff Bresnahan created The Day of Confrontation (DOC) conference 9-years ago with the intention of challenging the industry to 'think outside the square'. This year, with a line up of thought-provoking speakers, attendees can expect fresh perspectives that "look beyond pure economics to understand the driving forces of change in a global society". DOC16 is to be held in Sydney on Tuesday, October 18, before the Fund of the Year Awards dinner. Industry Moves speaks with Bresnahan about the movers and shakers that he's chosen for this year's line up and ask him a few confronting questions of our own.
Dr Bronwyn King has lobbied hard to make change in the super fund industry with 35 super funds divesting from tobacco. Do you think the super funds that have made the decision not to divest from tobacco should have to make this fact known to both current and potential members?
Its an interesting debate about funds divesting certain assets because of external pressures. I certainly do not believe that a fund should be compelled to explicitly declare that they hold assets that some perceive to be negative in a way. Apart from the fact that funds have to satisfy the Sole Purpose Test, where do you draw the line as to what is appropriate and what is not. Does this mean alcohol is next or mining, or even at a stretch, financial institutions, many of whom are perceived by some to subject consumers to negative consequences.
Interestingly, the funds which divested of tobacco early on were the funds whose membership have clear visibility as to the effects of tobacco consumption, namely the funds involved in health care. Conversely, there are funds who continue to invest in this area due in part because smoking has a positive consequence for a large part of their demographic. The real question is what do members want? I suspect for at least the next 10 years, they still want funds to manage their assets as they see fit. In other words, if a fund demographic is unlikely to support a certain type of investment then so be it. However, don't expect all funds to follow suit and certainly don't over-regulate them to make unnecessary disclosures.
Naomi Simson, from Red Balloon and Shark Tank fame, is speaking at the conference about 'how to ignite passion in your people'. As an entrepreneur yourself, what do you feel is the key to building (and keeping) a great team?
HR is without doubt the hardest part of managing any business. Having spoken with scores of business leaders over time it is a recurring theme as to what impedes a business' development. We have been blessed with the calibre of staff we have enjoyed at Lonsec and SuperRatings over many years.
However, I can only repeat what has been said many times over. Surround yourself with quality people and your job suddenly becomes a lot easier! If your senior staff take the question of "how can I make myself redundant", in the right sort of way, then they are the ones who are going to create opportunities for themselves and move the business forward faster than your competitors. I am far from HR savvy, so I am really looking forward to questioning Naomi on how she sees that whole employer/employee relationship working to provide an equitable work environment.
Bronwyn King, Rachel Botsman and Naomi Simson.
Voted best speaker at the DOC Conference over the years, Rachel Botsam is back this year. Last visit she told the audience that if they thought their industry couldn't be disrupted (ie Uber, AirBnB) they had their heads in the sand. Do you feel that the superannuation industry could be affected - if so how?
Dare I say it, but I really think we are sitting in a Fintech bubble at the moment and we are not far away from a repeat of the Dot-com bubble of 2001. But that is not a bad thing as some of the so called disruptors out there at the moment bear more resemblance to OneTel than a successful start-up. I am skeptical when it comes to disruptors in the super fund industry so put me down in the naïve bucket.
There is little I have seen over the past decade that leads me to conclude that this industry will be disrupted any time soon. When you take a largely apathetic client base, fixed distribution channels, and then merge it with glacial moving decision making processes, then any "disruption" will probably come with a red flashing light and an early warning system. Even then, some will probably miss the signals!
Rachel is a very talented speaker and always has some provocative insights on what is coming next. I am looking forward to hear her talk on 'People Power'.
More details about the: DOC16 line-up. Fund of the Year Awards Dinner and registration for the event at the DOC16 website.
Industry Moves is a proud media supporter of the 2016 Day of Confrontation.
