MAGAZINE OF CHOICE FOR AUSTRALIA’S WEALTH INDUSTRY
www.moneymanagement.com.au
Vol. 35 No 13 | July 29, 2021
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EOFY
Positioning for next year
ADVICE
ALTERNATIVES
Lessons from the UK
Long/short strategies
FIXED INCOME
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Superannuation fund offers made to employers as default fund allowed BY JASSMYN GOH
THE hawking of superannuation products does not count if a super fund is offered to an employer to discuss the employer’s choice of default fund for employees who do not nominate a fund to receive payments. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC’s) regulatory guide on the hawking prohibition regime, which is to commence on 5 October, said the prohibition applied only to offers that were made to a retail client. “Although employers are generally considered to be retail
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Funding a sustainable world EQUITIES have long been the focus of responsible investing, but despite funding large-scale sustainable projects, fixed income often gets left out of the discussion. Bonds are an important part of a balanced portfolio, so a portfolio that focuses on environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment requires an allocation that holds up to those values in the same way equities are expected to. “While ESG integration has often been associated with equity investing, integration of these facets should be a central tenet for bond investors too,” Brishni Mukhopadhyay, Western Asset ESG product specialist, said. But fixed income offered something both ESG and impactorientated investors would find attractive – the ability to finance large-scale green projects. “Fixed income is the home of the labelled sustainable bond market, with total issuance now well over $1.5 trillion and growing, which gives a high degree of transparency on issuers’ sustainability objectives,” Navindu Katugampola, Morgan Stanley Investment Management global head of sustainability, said. However, the sector was not without its own risks and advisers needed to consider the labelling of the product as well as the potential for greenwashing.
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clients within the meaning of the Corporations Act, employers do not typically acquire an interest in the fund,” the guide said. “An employer selecting a superannuation fund as a default fund does not constitute the issue or sale of a financial product to that employer.” The prohibition also did not apply to offers made in the course of giving personal financial advice made in the client’s best interest. However, consent was required when a consumer was offered, invited, or requested to apply for a different class of Continued on page 3
Pahari accuser let down by female colleagues BY CHRIS DASTOOR
THE FORMER AMP employee who accused Boe Pahari of sexual harassment says she was let down by female employers at the firm who expected her to return to working under the man she accused. In an address to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), Julia Szlakowski, former AMP private equity specialist, said: “The same individuals who shamelessly touted AMP’s culture and encouraged me to join are also the ones who demanded I return to work for my harasser, even after my credible complaint against him was investigated and verified – what may come as a surprise is that these individuals were all female”. Szlakowski said when she interviewed with AMP, she asked about their corporate culture and was assured on their policies regarding AMP’s diversity inclusion policy, female staff retention, quality in compensation and how they accommodated working mothers. “I did my due diligence and thought I had found a firm I could grow with, a place where I could be safe… everyone now knows how deeply mistaken I was,” Szlakowski said. Continued on page 3
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