Australian funds should embrace mandatory transparency
Australian superannuation funds should not the experience in the US and not be resistant to greater transparency around investment performance and cost, according to Vanguard chairman, Bill McNabb.
Addressing the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA), McNabb noted the attitude to such transparency but said the requirements flowing from the Dodd Frank in the US had ultimately proved to be beneficial.
He said that the US investment industry had originally resisted the transparency requirements with respect to cost and performance but this had proved to be a mistake.
McNabb said that while the requirement had originally be voluntary, it had elicited little support from firms in the US and was not mandatory.
“We fought the idea, but we should not have fought it,” he said.
“Transparency around cost and performance has proved a driver to competition and beneficial change,” McNabb said.
Recommended for you
There is one specific risk that is a significantly higher concern for financial services directors compared to companies overall and is impacting their risk appetite, according to the AICD.
Global fund managers are shunning bonds, with the asset class seeing the largest drop in allocations in more than 20 years.
Australian Ethical has seen its funds under management reach $10 billion, driven by organic customer growth and superannuation contributions.
Financial advisers will have access to private equity investments run by WTW for the first time as it launches a pooled fund to provide savers with access to traditionally institutional assets.
