Willis Towers Watson’s Australian advisory team has been appointed by the New Zealand Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, to conduct the statutory review of the Government’s Superannuation Fund Authority (GSFA).
GSFA managed and administered the nation’s Government Superannuation Fund.
The review, which took place every five years, would aim to determine how effectively and efficiently the GSFA performed its functions, in particular with regards to ethical investment framework in the context of international best practice standards.
“This includes consideration of how the Authority is taking account of and reporting on climate change,” Tim Mitchell, global head of governance consulting for Willis Towers Watson said.
The review would also address the legislative requirements under the Government Superannuation Fund Act in terms of assessing the GSFA’s statements of investment policies, standards and procedures for their appropriateness and compliance, as well as the fund’s investment performance.
The final report would need to delivered to the Treasury by mid-May this year, the firm said.
Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data.
Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion.
APRA has raised an alarm about gaps in how superannuation trustees are managing the risks associated with unlisted assets, after releasing the findings of its latest review.
Compared to how funds were allocated to March this year, industry super funds have slightly decreased their allocation to infrastructure in the six months to September – dropping from 11 per cent to 10.6 per cent, according to the latest APRA data.