THE Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) will appear before the House Economics Committee at a public hearing on Monday, December 2, 2019, as part of its review of the 2019 APRA Annual Report.

Chair, Tim Wilson MP, noted that "APRA appeared at a public hearing in August this year; however, the committee determined that additional information and questioning was required to properly scrutinise APRA".

"The hearing will provide the committee with the opportunity to further question APRA on its performance and operation and, in particular, how it is implementing the recommendations of the Hayne Royal Commission and the APRA capability review."

Mr Wilson said, "A common theme across the Royal Commission and capability review reports was that APRA is a strong regulator in the area of traditional financial risk, but that more work needs to be done to ensure APRA is prepared to respond to future challenges, particularly in relation to non-financial risk.

"The committee will scrutinise APRA on how it promotes financial stability through the prudential regulation and supervision of Authorised Deposit taking Institutions, insurers and superannuation licensees, and other related issues."

Public hearing details

Date: Monday, 2 December 2019
Time: 8am to 11am
Venue: Committee Room 2R1, Parliament House, Canberra

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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AN INQUIRY into supporting Australia’s export market is exporting the work of the Federal Parliament to Sydney, where it will hold a hearing on Friday.

Trade and Investment Growth Committee chair, George Christensen MP, said the Committee would hear from exporters in the advanced manufacturing, video games, sugar, wine, seafood, tourism, transport-related safety products and financial services sectors at the hearing.

‘From tourism to video games, Australia offers a staggering range of products and services to the world,’ Mr Christensen said.

‘We are looking forward to hearing from this huge range of industries and businesses about how the government can assist them to grow their export capabilities and attract investment.’

The inquiry, which focuses on attracting investment, identifying regulatory barriers and identifying best practice in the export market, was launched in August of this year. This will be the third public hearing to be held.

More information about the inquiry, including a full program for Friday’s public hearing, is available on the Committee’s webpage.

Public hearing details

Date: Friday, 29 November 2019
Time: 9am to 3.45pm
Location: Lodge Room 2, SMC Conference & Function Centre, 66 Goulburn St, Sydney

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

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VISION SUPER has been named the winner of the inaugural Money Magazine award for Cheapest Superannuation Platform.

Money Magazine described the fund as a “standout when it comes to price”. The average industry fund charges more than double Vision Personal’s total management fee of 0.49 percent.

Vision Super chief executive officer Stephen Rowe said the result was pleasing, but not surprising.

“Our focus at Vision Super is always on the best interests of our members – and that includes a focus on keeping our costs low so members get more in their accounts,” Mr Rowe said.

“We started the Vision Personal–Sustainable balanced option to give people who wanted to invest sustainably a better option, at a much lower cost than similar retail fund offerings. It’s low cost, and it’s low carbon.

“Australians are getting a lot more informed and savvy about where their super is invested – particularly since the Royal Commission.

“Gone are the days when funds could sell members high-cost products – the choice market is growing, and Vision Super is out there offering a product that’s been recognised as the lowest cost in the country," Mr Rowe said.

“We also have a focus on strong risk-adjusted returns, and the results are exceptional – as at October 31, Vision Personal–Sustainable balanced has top quartile returns of 12.66 percent over one year, and above median returns of 9.36 percent over three years.

“Membership of Vision Personal has been growing strongly as a result –157.5 percent membership growth and 48.9 percent asset growth over the three years to June 30.

“Our members have joined us because we offer outstanding value and a sustainable approach – and we’re delighted that Money Magazine has recognised Vision Super’s value through this Gold award.”

www.visionsuper.com.au

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THE Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA) has released a new discussion paper titled Evolution of Advice: The Financial Planning Profession from 2020 to 2025, and opened consultation on its proposed new pol icy platform.

The paper considers the major issues that will affect the profession over the next five years, including the affordability of advice, how financial planners interact with their clients, and the health of the profession.

FPA members will be asked to contribute their views over the next four weeks via the new FPA Community online forum, and their feedback will form the basis of the Association’s new policy initiatives for the next five years.

Dante De Gori CFP CEO of the FPA, said, “The FPA has a proud history of advocating for reforms that advance the financial planning profession, including education standards, ethics and professionalism.

“Back in 2014, the FPA released a landmark white paper on the future of the financial planning profession, providing a vision for elevating the profession and building consumer trust. In that paper, 10 key milestones were identified. The FPA’s advocacy since that time has resulted in nine of those 10 points being adopted – a proud achievement.

“Now we must look to the future and evolve our vision for the financial planning profession over the next five years. Feedback from members will underpin our policy and advocacy work so that we can promote new reforms that will benefit Australian consumers and financial planners alike.

“While the profession is going through a period of rapid change, Australians’ demand for high quality, independent and affordable financial advice remains undiminished. The FPA’s policy platform provides an opportunity for us to lead the conversation about the future of financial advice in this country and how we can better serve Australian consumers,” Mr De Gori said.

FPA members are encouraged to contribute their views by responding to a series of questions posed in FPA Community, which will be available in early December 2019.

The FPA is also presenting a webinar to its members on Tuesday December 3 at 1- 2pm AEST to walk through the details of the discussion paper including the current and emerging issues in financial planning and how these will be reflected in FPA’s new policy platform. The FPA expects to release its new policy platform in 2020.

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