The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment that has allowed superannuation funds to have “real conversations” with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) instead of “spinning their wheels”.
APRA’s executive director, superannuation, Suzanne Smith, said at the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) Super Governance Symposium that the communication and tech mediums that have needed to be used to navigate through the pandemic allowed more “iterative dialogue” and “real conversations”.
“This was opposed to big lumpy large amounts of deep preparation and very prescriptive packs of what APRA wants to hear,” she said.
“Issues are raised early, they get talked about, and funds get into the right direction instead of spinning wheels and wasting time crafting perfect communications.
“There is a willingness and we’ve found the conversations very insightful which means we worry less because we’ve been able to have a conversation so funds have been able to get on with their jobs. I would hope we continue to have real conversations in a more timely basis than we have in the past.”
A member of the super fund has approached ASIC to investigate potentially misleading or deceptive representations by UniSuper regarding the holdings of its sustainable portfolios.
The median growth fund delivered 1.9 per cent in March, adding to the “stunning” rally that has seen super funds gain 11 per cent since November.
Vanguard has affirmed its support for the current super performance test, emphasising the importance of keeping the process straightforward.
While some superannuation funds have gone down the route of internalisation, others say they favour ‘smart partnering’ with external managers for diversification appeal.
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