Retirement incomes III: deconstructed annuities

In this series of Trialogues on retirement incomes we have run through a range of product propositions available to providers; first came account-based pensions (where all the money is), followed by guaranteed income solutions (variable annuities).  In this, the third and final instalment, we look at non-guaranteed options which we’ve called ‘deconstructed annuities’ for reasons […]

Mercado Released [20 July 2015]:Chinese Economic Growth

China scored better-than-expected growth in the second quarter of 2015. The largest Asian economy managed to achieve a growth rate of 7.0% on a year-on-year basis, beating the consensus view of 6.9%. On a quarterly basis, the economy achieved a 1.7% increase, compared to 1.4% which was achieved in the previous quarter. It seems that […]

Retirement incomes II – guaranteed lifetime income

A steady stream of international visitors passes through our office each year on a fact-finding mission to identify potential opportunities in Australia – one of the world’s largest pension markets.  Almost without exception those visitors express surprise that despite leading the world in solving the problem of retirement adequacy, Australia lags so far behind other developed […]

Retirement Incomes – Part I

It is well understood that the superannuation system, ostensibly created to generate incomes in retirement, has really been developed with a focus on accumulating balances rather than income streams.  A necessary reorientation is now underway across the industry but the optimal retirement income solution is not yet evident.  Over the next three weeks we will […]

Mercado Released [29 June 2015]:Whats for the Greeks?

Whats for the Greeks? If Greeks fail to pay the US$1.7 billion it owes the IMF tomorrow, might be worse for the lender than the Greeks. Under the fund’s policy, countries that miss payments are deemed to be in “arrears” rather than in “default.” If Greece fails this will blow the IMF’s reputation as the […]

Falling member numbers mean not-for-profit funds face pressure to raise fees

After a delay of almost three months, APRA recently released its fund-level superannuation statistics (which means subscribers our Tria Super Funds Review will have recently received a supplementary update). While assets were up strongly during 2014, there was less good news for growth in member numbers. Total member numbers in the Tria large funds universe […]

Mercado Released [22 June 2015]:FED

The Federal Reserve confirmed last week that they will not raise interest rates this month. The chairwoman of the Fed, Janet Yellen, stated that the central bank does plan to act as soon as possible, however she did not offer clear guidance of the path for US interest rate hikes. The Fed also released its […]

Andrew Warren’s thoughts on his CEO SleepOut

So, the first South African CEO Sleepout has come and gone, and it was a privilege to be able to represent NMG Benefits and the broader NMG Group in this global initiative. I was among 250 CEOs who collectively raised over R25m for Girls and Boys Town, a South African charity focused on children in […]

Andrew Warren Interviewed on Cape Talk about his CEO SleepOut

Mercado Released [15 June 2015]:MINING PRODUCTION & MINERAL SALES

Total mineral sales including gold decreased by 1.1% YoY from R33.3 billion to R32.9 billion. Excluding gold, the mineral sales decreased by R0.6 billion (2.1%) to R28.6 billion. Major negative contributors to sales were iron ore, coal, non-metallic minerals and manganese ore, which contributed -6.9%, -1.5%, -1.2% and -0.8%, respectively to the total mineral sales. […]