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Online service outage Sunday 28 February 2010 Our online systems will be undergoing routine maintenance on Sunday 28 February from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm. Online account access will not be available during this time. We apologise for any inconvenience. 2009 annual report now available online If you would like a printed copy of this annual report (free of charge) please call us on 1300 880 588 or email us.
The United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) aim to help investors consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their investment decision-making. Aon Consulting Worldwide is a signatory to the UN PRI and the Aon Master Trust asks investment service providers to integrate ESG factors into their research and analysis. Russell Investments, one of our service providers, became a UN PRI signatory in September 2009. 'Russell became a UN PRI signatory in recognition of the increasingly widespread client demand for strategic advice and solutions that take into account ESG considerations,' said president and CEO Andrew Doman. 'These are issues that impact not only our clients' investment portfolios and long-term financial security, but also the business and personal communities in which our clients live and work around the world.' While recognising the importance of ESG factors, the Aon Master Trust bases its selection, retention, and redemption decisions primarily on the potential economic benefits to our members. Our ethical investment option, Australian Shares – Socially Responsible, uses positive and negative screens for ESG factors. Online service outage 10-11 October 2009 Our online systems will be undergoing routine maintenance on Saturday 10 October and Sunday 11 October 2009. You will not be able to access your member account online during this time. We apologise for the inconvenience. Full functionality will be available to members from 6:00am on Monday 12 October 2009.
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 Product Disclosure Statements 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 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." Aon Master Trust index fund manager – move to Vanguard The Aon Master Trust has appointed Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd as index fund manager, replacing State Street Global Advisors (SSgA). Why the transfer? SSgA's securities lending practices include a level of risk in their index trusts (as reflected in recent increases in sell spreads) that, in the trustee's view, has become inappropriate for the Aon Master Trust. Vanguard has a very limited and very conservative approach to lending securities which is better aligned with the Aon Master Trust's risk objectives. Vanguard – a pioneer in index funds Vanguard was founded in 1975 in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Since establishing the first indexed mutual fund in the US in 1976, the Vanguard Group has grown into one of the world's largest and most respected investment management companies. Vanguard now has global presence with offices in the US, Melbourne, Sydney, Brussels, Tokyo and Singapore and has been offering index funds in the Australian market for over 10 years. Vanguard uses partial replication (ie investment in a representative sample of securities in an index) to produce return and risk characteristics in line with the target index. Partial replication is more cost-effective than full replication (investment in all securities in an index) and is necessary in some asset classes in which the index includes illiquid securities. Vanguard also maintains an informative and practical website. The site gives investors and advisers access to a wide range of material, including Vanguard's profile and investment approach, option factsheets, performance data, news, market reviews and education on managed funds. How does the transfer affect Aon Master Trust options that invest in index funds? There has been a minor revision to:
See our option profiles for details. There is no change to the options' objectives, strategic asset allocations, management fees, risk profiles or suggested minimum timeframes. Transfer method and timing The Australian investments were transferred from SSgA to Vanguard in June 2009. The majority of these were transferred 'in specie' which is often the most cost and time-effective way to transfer assets. With in specie transfers, assets are not converted into cash to purchase other assets. This avoids broking and other costs that would apply if assets were being sold and bought. The international investments will be transferred gradually over a number of months in cash amounts determined by SSgA's restrictions on redemptions*. Increased costs and the small size of the monthly redemptions preclude in specie transfer of these assets. * SSgA currently limits redemptions to $2.5 million per month from any fund. Our Pension is a real (5) star! Independent research firm, 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 the Aon Master Trust Pension receiving the highest award right off the bat. Aon Master Trust Corporate and Personal Super have once again been awarded 5 Heron Quality Stars. For the 2009/10 year, Heron assessed 85 pension products and more than 180 superannuation products. Their assessment covered five areas of importance: Super products
Pension products
This award recognises each of the Aon Master Trust’s products as 'an outstanding product with a great depth of features and hence flexibility.' Transaction processing has resumed on 14 July 2009 The transaction processing freeze which started on 30 June has now been lifted. The processing of transaction requests resumed on 14 July with requests being processed as quickly as possible and in order of date received. Online services are operating as normal. Please call us on 1300 880 588 if you have any queries. Pension payment election for 2009/2010 Election letters will be sent in July Following feedback from a number of members last year, we are deferring the issue of pension election letters for 2009/2010 until after 1 July 2009 account balances are confirmed. We expect these letters to go out in the third week of July. Why the change? Past practice has been to issue election letters by early June, with an estimate of the member's account balance at 1 July. While this approach had worked well previously, the extraordinary volatility in investment markets last year meant that many pensioners based their election on an estimate that was quite different from the actual balance that eventuated at 1 July. Given market volatility, we are issuing election letters for 2009/2010 as soon as our annual benefits review has confirmed account balances. This will enable members to make their payment election based on their actual balance at 1 July 2009 rather than on an estimate. Payments in 2009/2010 The first payment will be made on 15 July 2009 based on the member's election for 2008/2009. As soon as we receive the member's election for 2009/2010, subsequent payments will be adjusted to ensure the drawdown for the financial year reflects that election. If you have any questions about payment election letters, please call us on 1300 880 588 or email contactaon@pillar.com.au. For financial advice on pension payment amounts, please contact your adviser. If you do not have an adviser but would like to be put in touch with one, call us on 1300 880 588. Contributions & rollovers in lead up to 30 June For contributions and rollovers to be reflected on the 30 June 2009 statements, they must reach us together with the required documentation by 30 June. If they reach us after 30 June, they will be held in our bank account during the processing freeze (see separate news item) and used to purchase units on the day we process them. If sending contributions by post, please allow sufficient postage time for your contributions to reach us no later than the morning of 30 June 2009. Our postal address is: Aon Master Trust
If you wish to make a contribution by electronic means or deposit a cheque or money directly to the Trust's bank account, please call us on 1300 880 588 for instructions on how you can do this. Processing freeze – 30 June to 14 July 2009 Please note that transaction processing will be suspended between 30 June and 14 July 2009. This will allow us to test, check and audit final unit prices - an essential step in ensuring that your 30 June 2009 benefit statement reflects the true financial position of your investment holdings. The freeze applies to all transaction requests, including contributions, rollovers, benefit quotations*, benefit payments**, investment switches**, and online services. * Benefit quotations - during the freeze period, we will be able to provide an approximate benefit quotation as at 29 June 2009 only (please call us on 1300 880 588 or email us to request a quotation). ** Benefit payments and investment switches - transaction requests for benefit payments or investment switches (including all required supporting documentation) need to be received by 26 June in order to be processed by 30 June. Any transaction requests received after 26 June will be processed as quickly as possible, in order of date received, once the freeze is lifted. Please call us on 1300 880 588 if you have any queries. We're a Heron high-flyer (again) The Aon Master Trust has once again received 5 Heron Quality Stars - the highest rating awarded by independent research firm, The Heron Partnership. For the 2009 year, the firm assessed more than 150 superannuation products, covering about 130 features of each super product categorised under five areas of importance:
This award recognises the Aon Master Trust as 'an outstanding product with a great depth of features and hence flexibility.'
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