Grilling, basting or wet lettuce?

20 August 2018
| By Rollover |
image
image
expand image

If the opening day of the Royal Commission’s hearings into the superannuation sector were any guide, then most industry funds could afford to breathe just a little easier.

While a number of industry participants appeared to be drooling in anticipation of certain superannuation fund executives being unmercifully grilled by counsel assisting the Royal Commission the early signs were that the expected “grilling” was more likely to be just a solid “basting”.

You see, counsel assisting the Commission, Michael Hodge QC made the point in his opening remarks that on the basis of the statements and evidence collected to that stage, it seemed industry funds appeared less exposed than their retail fund counterparts.

But lest industry fund executives were tempted to relax too soon, Hodge did go on to cite a number of other issues which would be traversed during the two-week hearing, not least industry funds advertising and in particular the so-called “fox in the henhouse” advertising campaign.

Rollover suspects the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority may be paying fairly close attention to how the Royal Commission handles the question of whether the advertising breaches the sole purpose test, given the regulator’s track-record on that particular issue.

Read more about:

AUTHOR

Recommended for you

sub-bgsidebar subscription

Never miss the latest developments in Super Review! Anytime, Anywhere!

Grant Banner

From my perspective, 40- 50% of people are likely going to be deeply unhappy about how long they actually live. ...

11 months ago
Kevin Gorman

Super director remuneration ...

11 months 1 week ago
Anthony Asher

No doubt true, but most of it is still because over 45’s have been upgrading their houses with 30 year mortgages. Money ...

11 months 1 week ago

Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Co...

1 day 13 hours ago

Demand from institutional investors was the main driver of growth in Australia’s responsible investment (RI) market in 2023, as the industry continued to gain momentum....

1 day 13 hours ago

In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges....

1 day 14 hours ago