NSW Liberal back-bencher, Senator Andrew Bragg has continued his campaign for a single default fund and for people to be able to access superannuation for a first home deposit.
In a webinar sponsored by the Financial Services Council, Bragg told actuary, Michael Rice, that the Government should provide a basic default product through an organisation which would provide a cheap and cheerful and outsource funds management to the Future Fund.
“Because the Future Fund has investment management credentials this is an easy thing for us to establish,” he said.
What is more, Bragg claimed that if default superannuation had been established by the former Fraser Liberal Government rather than the Hawke/Keating Labor Governments it would have looked very different.
“My view is that we are so heavily invested in this scheme we need to have the best deal possible,” he said. “We would have had this if the Fraser Government had implemented superannuation rather than the Hawke/Keating Government.”
Bragg said that he believed that the superannuation industry needed to be open to the debate around allowing people to access super to purchase a first home, rather than be trenchantly closed to the issue.
“I’m not saying this is something for the silvertails, it is for those who are doing it tough,” he said.
Bragg also suggested that the Government’s hardship early access scheme should not necessarily end with the resolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that there should be room for a repeat exercise, if necessary.
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.
Two totally different issues, mixed into one.