Louise du Pre-Alba to take charge of ASFA policy

Louise du Pre-Alba, the former senior executive leader of super funds at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has been appointed the director of policy at the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).

ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said the appointment reflected the high level of both strategic and implementation policy work to be done over the next three years as the superannuation industry looks to take its views to Government regarding the implementation of its financial reform agenda.

At a recent meeting with Treasury and Minister for Superannuation, Bill Shorten made it clear that Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms, MySuper and SuperStream are all going ahead, Vamos said.

“Bill’s clear message is that the whole of the superannuation framework is a package, if you’re looking at increasing the SG [superannuation guarantee], if you’re looking at an extension of the cap there must be a clear embracing by the industry of some of the changes that the Government want to make,” she said.

“They are committed to seeing all of their policy around super through and they expect the industry to work with them. We will continue to advocate strongly for the increase in SG as well as ensure that the Cooper and FoFA recommendations are implemented appropriately,” she said.

“We need to ensure what we get is appropriate for fund members and the industry. That’s going to take work, it’s going to take strategy and it’s going to need political nous. With the background that Louise has across all of those issues, it means that we have that real bench strength in our policy team,” Vamos said.

One of du Pre-Alba’s first tasks will be to lead ASFA’s consultation on FoFA, attending next week’s treasury consultation, and working with ASFA’s member advice policy committee, Vamos said.

du Pre-Alba has previously held several regulatory roles and is an ASFA Accredited Investment Fiduciary (ASFA AIF). She was also the primary author of the ISC’s Good Practice Guide for Trustees of Superannuation Funds and a member of Don Mercer’s Superannuation Working Group, which provided recommendations to the Government on the “Safety in Super” legislation.

du Pre-Alba will commence her new role immediately on a part-time basis while she completes her MBA with a full time commitment from 1 December. She left her role at ASIC in late June following a restructuring that included a merger between the regulator’s investment management and superannuation groups.

David Graus will remain as general manager, policy and industry practice, and continue to drive operational aspects of the association, Vamos said.