Industry Super Australia (ISA) received a total of $5.5 million from AustralianSuper in the year that industry superannuation funds actioned the so-called ‘fox in the henhouse’ advertising campaign.
The amount of funding provided by AustralianSuper was revealed by the fund’s chief executive, Ian Silk, during questioning at the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry.
The Royal Commission heard that ISA levied superannuation funds $500,000 each towards the funding of the ‘fox in the henhouse’ advertisement attacking bank-owned superannuation funds, but in the case of AustralianSuper this was on top of $5 million already paid to ISA.
Counsel assisting the Royal Commission, Michael Hodge QC also noted that Silk sat on the board of ISA.
Asked by Hodge whether the $500,000 paid for the advertisement was additional to or separate from $5 million [already paid], Silk said it was.
Hodge commented that this meant it was then “effectively an increase by one eleventh of the contribution to the ISA”.
Commissioner Kenneth Hayne later raised questions about the validity of the advertising spending by AustralianSuper, and while cautioning that he was not stating a position said it raised questions about member best interests and the sole purpose test.
Comments
"Would you like a cup of tea & bikkies with that sir?" No questions about the failed Westscheme investments swallowed up by AusSuper. No questions about the appropriateness of performance fees being paid within IFM, a sub-investment. No questions about the $4.8 million paid to Unions by AusSuper over the past decade. What a joke of an effort.
No kidding. Nothing on misleading performance comparisons (high growth labelled as balanced) either.
Protected species as usual.
You are exactly right but has anyone here written their own submission to the RC raising these exact points as each and every individual here had the opportunity to do? Complacency - they feed off of it.
Given the recent NAB and superannuation disclosure by the Royal Commission, it looks like the 'fox in the henhouse' advertising was reasonably truthful.
Hilariously predictable Hedware, as usual utter biased comment desperately racing to defend ISA funds. Still notice my queries remain unanswered:
Have you properly researched any of the problems stated with ISA funds or any of the myriad others that I fatigued before stating (all have had plenty of public airing)?
Given these, can you in good conscience honestly say that they deserve your utter blind loyalty and endorsement at ever single opportunity and yet still maintain any air of professionalism or personal integrity, with no other personal or professional motive or agenda?
I dispute the truthfulness of it, Hedware. ISA have misleadingly referred to a foxhouse as a "henhouse" and I'm not certain that the Royal Commission has discovered any hens in retail super yet.
With the stuff coming out of the Royal Commission, ISA is getting a whole lot of new subject matter to base its next advertising campaigns. ISA did nothing to cause the retail funds to take excessive fees, to offer in-house products, to do no servicing, and to tar all financial advisers with a bad reputation. It was all self-inflicted.
We will see how the industry funds fare in front of the Royal Commission and whether their cultures and operations are any better.
That's the point Hedware - you won't see it - your cancer has become incurable - it has spread to the lymph nodes of education, finance, identity, all levels of government, and as we can see in the RC the enduring bureaucracy. The ISN have won on their battlefield, and I will agree with you in no small part due to the stupid short sightedness and arrogance of bank execs who only understand alpha male bludgeoning tactics in comparison to long term strategy of subversion. They have emulated Saddam and set fire to the oil field which ISN will happily take over after putting the fires. The tragedy for you and your ilk is you will get exactly what you want and that has dire consequences for this country. You will just never believe it. Trillions of dollars of componding wealth will be under centralised control of a select few. Exactly the situation someone like you would rally against.
All well and good going after the "left", ISN and sycophantic Neo-Marxist ISN cult members posting online - and I am including my own reactiveness here to such tribal shills - but we really need to ask ourselves about the need to really send a message to their supposed political opposition. Turnbull's colours are glowing through with fluorescence from this debacle. My personal feeling is self respecting non-aligned finance professionals should be ACTIVISTS against BOTH major parties. Stop voting for them and be open with your clients about that.
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