Insights

Low interest rates, combined with COVID-19 induced equity market volatility and question marks around dividends, are prompting a rethink of the traditional approach to portfolio construction.

The Actuaries Institute recently announced Jennifer Lang as the recipient of their Actuary of the Year Award for her work in leading the Institute’s Covid-19 response.

After little change over the past 15 years, the actuarial industry is ripe for disruption. But the good news is that disruption should free up actuaries to concentrate on the ‘story-telling’ side of their profession.

The superannuation industry has grappled with the issue of longevity risk, or the prospect of retirees outliving their retirement savings, for decades. But it has been a nebulous concept for the superannuation fund members themselves to grasp.

The current environment is making superannuation funds look at any opportunity to make their assets work harder for the costs incurred, according to Parametric head of Australia, Chris Briant.

Redundancies and reductions in pay have been a painfully common experience across a wide swatch of the global economic landscape during the past few months. A report released by the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors finds that executive pay packets have not been immune.

Research conducted by RIVA Recruitment has found that increased restrictions and decreased opportunities are going to hit sales and business development specialists in the pocketbook.

Some Australian businesses are turning to the gig economy to support flexibility and efficiency in these unprecedented times. Gartner research found that 40% of CEOs are planning on outsourcing roles to freelancers.

Markets might be volatile and the outlook uncertain but the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry is doing well as investors look for simple and easy to understand investor solutions.

As Melbourne locks down for the second time and state borders tighten, the wealth management industry has endeavoured to adapt to the new normal.

The effects of COVID-19 are far-reaching but one of the more immediate ones was the rapid cancellation of conferences across the industry. This wasn’t only a headache for organisers, and devastating for the event industry, but it also had knock-on effects for anyone who uses events to keep up to date with their continuing professional development (CPD).

Between the economic depression and the government’s early release of superannuation scheme, the future of Australia’s superannuation sector is in flux.

The Royal Commission into banking and finance put a fine point on what had been a growing point of concern for institutional investors and superannuation trustees: operational risk.

Chief executive officer of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, Eva Scheerlinck, has an intimate knowledge of the organisation’s Trustee Director Course. As executive manager, governance and stewardship when the program was launched seven years ago, she was closely involved in its development and even attended the course in its first year.

As a headline, it’s striking.

More Australians are paying attention to their super than ever before.

There seems to be two types of advertising in the market right now: either you're pushing out a message about shared pain and togetherness, or you're waiting patiently for all of this to blow over so you can go back to normal.

KPMG has conducted a survey that reveals insights into what consumers expect from their superannuation and financial services institutions in the ongoing pandemic world.

Zenith Investment Partners has just released its sector report for Australian Shares Large Companies. As the pandemic hit Australia in the middle of the review, half of the fund manager visits ended up being conducted via video conferencing, a development which was not entirely negative according to Jacob Smart, senior investment analyst.

While the panic of early March may have dissipated and Australia seems to have done relatively well when it comes to COVID-19 cases, Chi-X’s CEO Vic Jokovic says that people should still be cautious. He does not expect the volatility VIX index to return to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon.