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.”
Australia’s second largest super fund has added thermal coal companies to its list of investment exclusions.
The fund has expanded its corporate superannuation solutions to partner with Australian businesses of all sizes.
The chief executive of Aware Super anticipates a significant shift in how ESG factors will influence portfolio values in the next six years, surpassing the changes witnessed in the past two decades.
In a recent statement, shadow assistant minister for home ownership and Liberal senator for NSW, Andrew Bragg, accused ‘big super’ of fabricating data attributed to the Reserve Bank of Australia to push their agenda.
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