POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Superannuation trustees should warrant their ethical commitments
Superannuation trustee boards as well as listed companies have to make warranted commitments to uphold ethical standards if regulation is going to work, according to the director of the Centre for Law, Market & Regulation at the University of New South Wales, Justin O'Brien.
Speaking at the Australian Council of Super Investors conference in Melbourne, O'Brien said that rules-based and principles-based regulation could not work unless they were accompanied by a defined model of integrity that boards could follow.
"It's in the interests of both the regulator and the regulated that, in actual fact, we have warranted commitments to ethical standards, rather than just stated commitments which aren't there in practice," he said.
Stated commitments to ethical standards without force cause reputational and material risk to companies, O'Brien said.
The behaviour of some financial companies during the financial crisis was perfectly legal when viewed through a compliance framework, O'Brien said.
Deterrence mechanisms have to be in place, he said.
A principles-based system did not work if the people covered by the system did not have any principles, O'Brien said.
O'Brien urged regulators to make sure that their regulations worked.
He gave the example of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which is under attack from the judiciary over concerns that it is not using its discretionary powers in the public interest.
Financial settlements did nothing to protect the public, he said.
O'Brien also suggested that European nations looking to reform their financial system after the financial crisis needed to find a balance between a system that worked, and that had justifiable support from the people.
Banking reform had not gone nearly as far as it needed to, he added.
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
Australia’s largest superannuation fund has confirmed all members who had funds stolen during the recent cyber fraud crime have been reimbursed.
As institutional investors grapple with shifting sentiment towards US equities and fresh uncertainty surrounding tariffs, Australia’s Aware Super is sticking to a disciplined, diversified playbook.
Market volatility continued to weigh on fund returns last month, with persistent uncertainty making it difficult to pinpoint how returns will fare in April.
The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has called for the incoming government to prioritise “certainty and stability” when it comes to super policy.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
90.28 3 y p.a(%)
2
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
37.08 3 y p.a(%)
3
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.44 3 y p.a(%)
4
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
31.12 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
28.28 3 y p.a(%)
