Insights

The short week was kicked off by the release of the 2020 (or is it the 2021?) Federal Budget.

For all the talk about the importance and value of diversity in both executive and directorial ranks, Australian organisations have been struggling.

In the last year, the number of women reaching senior leadership positions in ASX200 companies has flatlined.

Like so many other industries, there has been a significant change in consumer behaviour for financial advice clients because of the economic impacts of the coronavirus. The Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) says that advisers and firms need to make changes to both better support clients and also support their business in the “new normal.”

There has been an enormous increase in the number of private companies looking to go public over the past two years, according to Perennial Value Management’s newly appointed head of private investments Brendan Lyons.

After a stint as a lecturer at RMIT University while he completed his PhD, David Sokulsky’s pathway in investment management started off nearly two decades ago as a research manager for a publishing house with a superannuation data base.

There was a lot of activity in Morningstar’s latest review of the fixed income sector, with 15 changes to previous ratings of funds.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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

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.