Insights

Chris Corneil arrived in Australia as a fresh-faced backpacker some 25 years ago. He never left. After a distinguished career in financial services - the last four years of which spent as CEO, Australasia of Russell Investments - his professional life has taken a different turn.

Penny Pryor talks to two professionals who have made the switch to the ‘other side’ of the industry, whether that be not-for-profit or retail, and discovers that maybe the differences aren’t that great after all.

The SLICE survey is conducted nationally in March, July and November to canvass the opinions of independent financial planners on a broad range of industry and business issues. Conducted by Peter Dawson of The Dawson Partnership and Susan Rochester of Balance at Work, the inaugural survey – SLICE 1 - in November 2013 uncovered some interesting stats, including:

Alan Beasley was managing director and country head of BNP Paribas Investment Partners from 1996 to 2002. In the first of our regular Q&As that ask 'Where are they Now?', he speaks with Penny Pryor about his views on financial services and what he's been up to since.

A career in financial services doesn't mean you’ll never work anywhere else. Penny Pryor talks to three professionals whose skill sets learnt in the industry have made them perfect for roles as diverse as board directorships and art gallery executives.

Are the Big Four still the workplace of choice for new graduates? Penny Pryor talks to Kelly Pfeffer from Suncorp Group and Sarah Fletcher from The University of Sydney Business School about the laws of attraction, for both graduates and the companies wanting to recruit them...

The big superannuation funds have been concerned about rollouts to self managed superannuation funds for some time now. And why shouldn't they be? SMSFs continue to be the fastest growing sector of the superannuation industry with almost a third of the $1.8 trillion in Australian superannuation assets.

Our superannuation industry has assets of $1.8 trillion and in terms of global pension markets, we rank fourth. What that means, and has meant for a long time, is that we are a very attractive market for international funds managers, looking to come here for a piece of that pie.

Corporate philanthropy has moved way beyond the occasional company donation, raffle or charity gala. It is now a very real staff retention policy with as many as 35 per cent of organisations offering volunteering leave.

It’s the perennial question across all industries and sectors. Is bigger better?

When Vanessa Stoykov started evolution media group 15 years ago, it was partly as a result of her exasperation with the financial services sector’s inability to tell its story well.

An extended period out of the job market, particularly at a senior level, used to mean the death of some executives’ careers.

Penny Pryor speaks to Chris Cuffe, Patrick Farrell and Peter Sumner about the role of 'stars' in a post-GFC industry...

Industry Moves is an online hub tracking people on the move in the Australian institutional and retail finance industry.