Aon Master Trust Adviser Directions | August 2009 |
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Our Pension is a real (5) star! We're one of the best investment performers |
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Also in this issue: Benefit statements: a call to action
Product and service enhancements Our Pension is a real (5) star! The Heron Partnership has awarded the Aon Master Trust Pension 5 Heron Quality Stars in their 2009/10 ratings. This is Heron’s first rating of pension products so we’re delighted to see our Pension receiving the highest award right off the bat. Aon Master Trust Corporate Super and Personal Super have once again been awarded 5 Heron Quality Stars. We’ve upped the ante on insurance cover Higher cover – maximum levels Higher cover – minimum level default Lower rates for long-term income protection Insurance transfer now a permanent offer Factsheet on the enhancements
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Benefit statements: a call to action Reading their annual benefit statement can be the nudge a member needs to get into ‘super mode’ and take action. With statements going out in the last week of September, we’ve taken the opportunity to remind members (in the Member Directions they’ll get with their statement) of the benefits of talking to a financial adviser, consolidating super and transferring other insurance into the Aon Master Trust. Statements will be made available online while they’re ‘in the mail’, so you’ll have a head start on your clients if you want to preview their statements. In August 2009, Aon Consulting launched a major initiative to listen to what you have to say about the Aon Master Trust. The survey has been designed to help us understand what you and your clients think of the Aon Master Trust and our support services. The response so far has been very encouraging and demonstrates your commitment to the Aon Master Trust. Our commitment to you is to take notice of your feedback. Thank you for your contribution – your thoughts and comments will help us serve you better into the future. Vanguard appointed as index fund manager The Aon Master Trust has appointed Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd as index fund manager, replacing State Street Global Advisors (SSgA). While this transfer means a minor revision in the investment strategies of our affected Sector options and in some benchmark indices, there is no change to our options’ objectives, strategic asset allocations, management fees, risk profiles or suggested minimum timeframes. Our website has more information on Vanguard and the transfer itself. Investment performance We’re one of the best investment performers In what has been a very difficult period for super funds and their investments, our default investment option, Balanced – Index (Pre-Mixed), has beaten the all fund, not-for-profit fund, and master trust medians for 1-year returns, and the master trust median for 3-year returns.* A return of -8.93% for the year ranks us 9th out of 113 balanced super fund options in the SuperRatings survey.
Market update (quarter ended 30 June 2009) The rebound in global share markets since early March is a welcome relief after the relentless downtrend that followed the Lehman collapse last September. However, we’re not quite out of the woods. Globally, the high level of market volatility and prospects for more bad economic news put a large question mark over the sustainability of the share rally in the second quarter of 2009. There may be more bad news in the form of disappointing corporate earnings, defaults on corporate debt payments and US home foreclosures. On the other hand, optimistic scenarios are based on the tremendous amount of fiscal and monetary policy stimulus in the pipeline, and business and consumer confidence indicators that the seeds of recovery are taking root. The next few months are likely to remain challenging and some sort of market pull-back seems inevitable. However, investment markets around the world offer opportunities benefiting investors with a long-term horizon. The Australian economy is looking strong compared to other developed economies, with positive real GDP growth (the basic measure of economic growth) over the March quarter. The unemployment rate has risen steadily over the past year to a six-year high of 5.8%, but this is low compared to the US and Eurozone. In July the Reserve Bank of Australia maintained the official cash rate at 3% – the level set in April 2009. For the full report, including market sector updates, see our Market update – quarter ended 30 June 2009. Source: Russell Investments Partnership news Russell’s new Head of Investment Consulting Our investment management partner, Russell, has announced the appointment of Greg Liddell as its new Head of Investment Consulting for Australia. According to Russell’s media release, this announcement “reinforces Russell’s move to focus even greater energy and expertise on managing the evolving investment challenges faced by the world’s most sophisticated institutional investors.” Our group life insurer, AIG Life, has announced its change of brand to AIA, reflecting its brand alignment with the rest of the AIA Group across the Asia region. The company has also changed its name to AIA Australia Limited. The re-brand means a change to AIG Life’s name and brand (including logo, signage and the appearance of its website and material). AIA has confirmed that the re-brand has no impact on pricing, terms or conditions for current rate guarantees in place with clients. Business operations and capital investment in service improvement initiatives are also unaffected. AIA Group CEO and President, Mark Wilson said, “This important re-branding will unify our business activities under one strong pan-Asian identity. Our new refreshed visual identity is an iconic statement of AIA as a leading contemporary Asian brand, while continuing to demonstrate the heritage and financial strength our customers trust.” There is no obligation on the Aon Master Trust to reissue its PDSs as a result of the brand change. We will, of course, reflect the AIA brand as and when we update our disclosure, marketing and communication material. www.aia.com.au On the website Our insurance quote calculator now allows you to:
Manager changes and Russell Sector Funds Our website now shows any changes to underlying investment managers. It also has information on Russell’s single-asset sector funds including the underlying investment managers and their styles, the latest top 10 holdings, sector allocation and more. AML/CTF Act and adviser instructions The AML/CTF Act has made identification requirements a lot stricter. This table shows the circumstances where an authorised adviser can (and can't) instruct Aon Master Trust on behalf of their client. We’re busy re-branding all our material in line with Aon’s new and more contemporary ‘look and feel’ so make sure you’re using the most up-to-date material. You’ll find some new material on our website: Member online services – user guide – everything a member needs to know about registering for access, making transactions and generating reports Contributions – explains the different types of contributions that can be made into super and how they can help members reach their financial goals. Investment volatility: what to expect and how to find your match – a kick start for members wanting to find an investment match for their financial risk tolerance. See Aon Super News for a recap on the Federal Budget changes that came in from 1 July, including the temporary reduction in the co-contribution and the reduction in the concessional contributions cap. Reforms to income tests for some government benefits also came in from 1 July and you can read about them here. Does ASIC’s relief on financial advice affect you? ASIC has provided relief to super fund trustees who provide advice to fund members about their existing superannuation fund from complying with Section 945A of the Corporations Act. This relief does not apply to financial advisers or outsourced advice providers of super fund trustees. See Aon Super News for more information. ASIC relief granted – temporary resident exit statements This Class Order gives ongoing relief to super fund trustees from the statutory obligation to provide an exit statement to fund members whose benefits are compulsorily transferred to the ATO. |
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Disclaimer The information in this document is general in nature and should not be relied on as advice (personal or otherwise) as your personal needs, objectives and financial situation have not been considered. Before deciding whether a particular Aon Master Trust product is right for you, please consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement. This document has been prepared by Aon Consulting Pty Limited (ABN 48 002 288 646, AFSL 236667) a related body corporate of the trustee of the Aon Master Trust (ABN 68 964 712 340), Aon Superannuation Pty Limited (ABN 83 057 982 822, AFSL 237465). This is a relationship that might reasonably be expected to be capable of influencing Aon Consulting Pty Limited when the company provides financial product advice to clients in respect of the Aon Master Trust. While every care has been taken in the production of this document and the information contained in it has been obtained from sources that Aon Consulting Pty Limited believes to be reliable, Aon Consulting Pty Limited does not make any representation as to the accuracy of this document and accepts no liability for any loss incurred by any person who may rely on it. In any event the recipient of this document shall be entirely responsible for their use of this document. © 2009 Aon Consulting Pty Limited. |
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