The COVID-19 pandemic has created an environment that has allowed superannuation funds to have “real conversations” with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) instead of “spinning their wheels”.
APRA’s executive director, superannuation, Suzanne Smith, said at the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) Super Governance Symposium that the communication and tech mediums that have needed to be used to navigate through the pandemic allowed more “iterative dialogue” and “real conversations”.
“This was opposed to big lumpy large amounts of deep preparation and very prescriptive packs of what APRA wants to hear,” she said.
“Issues are raised early, they get talked about, and funds get into the right direction instead of spinning wheels and wasting time crafting perfect communications.
“There is a willingness and we’ve found the conversations very insightful which means we worry less because we’ve been able to have a conversation so funds have been able to get on with their jobs. I would hope we continue to have real conversations in a more timely basis than we have in the past.”
The super fund announced that Gregory has been appointed to its executive leadership team, taking on the fresh role of chief advice officer.
The deputy governor has warned that, as super funds’ overseas assets grow and liquidity risks rise, they will need to expand their FX hedge books to manage currency exposure effectively.
Super funds have built on early financial year momentum, as growth funds deliver strong results driven by equities and resilient bonds.
The super fund has announced that Mark Rider will step down from his position of chief investment officer (CIO) after deciding to “semi-retire” from full-time work.