The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has welcomed the decision by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to issue a conflicts of interest guide for superannuation funds.
The regulator announced the release of the guide late last week, with APRA deputy chairman Ross Jones saying it would provide examples of trustee-specific conflicts and outline issues for consideration within a registrable superannuation entity’s conflicts of interest policy.
The APRA draft guidance paper makes clear that trustees of registrable superannuation entities must have a risk management strategy that would typically have a conflicts of interest policy.
Commenting on the APRA announcement, AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds said there was mounting evidence that the different ways trustees were appointed and held accountable could make significant differences to the way they carried out their responsibilities.
“With the scrutiny being directed to superannuation funds in the wake of the global financial crisis, achieving best practice in managing and monitoring conflicts of interest is essential to maintaining public trust in the super industry,” she said.
