Why SMSFs make no sense – still – below 500K
Santa comes but once a year. So too does accurate SMSF data – in the form of the ATO annual statistics released just before Christmas. SMSFs are a large and fragmented segment, with the only comprehensive, albeit still limited, data coming from SMSF tax returns. These take a long time to be filed, processed and […]
Read more...Vertical integration back on the 2014 radar
Australia’s wealth industry has become a vertically integrated place. The dominant for-profit business model since the 1990s – advice, platform, and asset management under one roof – has been further reinforced by much of the previous government’s regulatory program, intended or not.Is this the apex of vertical integration or could it go further? It always […]
Read more...All I want for Christmas is sustainable group life
Earlier this year we looked at how group life had become a hot topic, thanks to large premium increases being communicated to members (First State Super has just issued a Significant Event Notice in one of the latest examples) and the prospect […]
Read more...Super prices: retail starts to undercut the not-for-profits
Not-for-profit super funds = cheap, retail super funds = expensive. That’s the traditional perception, and indeed the chosen positioning of the industry funds segment, with the “Compare the pair” campaign being the best known example. But the facts were never as simple as the marketing, and it’s a lot less simple now, as today’s chart […]
Read more...Fail grade: Stronger Super is pushing costs up, not down
Here’s a proposition. Does this sound an attractive project for super funds and their members? – Have management teams spend two years on compliance projects instead of addressing member needs – Spend ~$1 billion – Watch another 100,000 members leave for SMSFs – At the end of it all, deliver pretty much what you were […]
Read more...Accessing the Significant Investor Visa segment
What price Australian residency? Well now we know. The Significant Investor Visa (SIV) was introduced 12 months ago to provide overseas investors with residency if they invest $5m in “eligible assets”. These types of programs are not uncommon around the world, but are usually targeted at entrepreneurs where investment will lead to job creation. Of […]
Read more...Do industry funds really outperform?
With the change of government, industry funds face the prospect of a more challenging external environment. It is Coalition policy to sever the connection between industrial awards and super, with the potential for any MySuper product to become eligible to receive mandated contributions, thus breaking the semi-monopolies that many industry funds enjoy. While a serious […]
Read more...Understanding sovereign wealth funds
Exactly what is a sovereign wealth fund (SWF)? What are the main types of SWFs and what do they invest in to meet their objectives? Sovereign wealth funds are an important but opaque institutional segment, so answering these questions is often difficult and always time consuming. Happily there’s a quality new source covering a sample […]
Read more...Learning from Fujifilm’s road to safety
Last October we looked at what the wealth industry could learn from the Kodak experience in responding to a disrupted industry. You can see it here. Some of the most interesting lessons relate to why incumbents so often fail in the face of disruptive change – because they benefit from the status quo, threats appears […]
Read more...Regulators crash the SMSF party
It’s the midnight hour and the party’s in full swing; drinks are flowing and music is blaring. But a loud knock on the door suggests trouble. Sure enough, through the window flashing blue lights illuminate the darkness. Someone has called the cops. Similarly, after years of inactivity, regulators are now paying attention to the rising […]
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