High investment costs, a rise in short-termism, an emphasis on qualitative risk management and fees will be the key themes of 2009, according to global firm Watson Wyatt.
No doubt this year will remain challenging for super fund trustees as they juggle the market dilemmas with member expectations.
In its predictions for 2009, consultant Mercer said the financial crisis would separate strong boards from weak boards.
Trustee boards will need to ensure they have effective governance structures in order to drive well-informed decision-making, Mercer head of investment consulting Simon Eagleton said.
“Mercer has seen the financial crisis separate strong boards from weak boards,” Eagleton said.
“Those boards with strong governance arrangements and effective decision-making processes were able to respond effectively to the daily challenges brought about by the financial crisis.”
In fast-changing markets, trustees would need to react quickly to take advantage of market opportunities and minimise threats while maintaining accountability, he said.
He said board governance would emerge prominently as boards reviewed their governance competency in order to deal with complex and opportunistic decisions.
Recognising the importance of trustee governance, the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) initiated its inaugural fund governance conference in May last year.
The conference is back on the radar again for May. Two months later, the AIST and Australian Council of Superannuation Investors will hold an international corporate governance event with former US vice president Al Gore as one of the keynote presenters.
“AIST has recognised that with super funds having become major players in the Australian economy and government policy, their governance practices will increasingly be scrutinised and trustee directors are likely to be held more accountable for poor performance,” AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds said.
Last year, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority released a study on fund govermance. The regulator found a correlation between governance models and fund performance.
The AIST was currently in the final stages of a joint research project with the University of Sydney, with preliminary results likely to support this correlation, according to Reynolds.
Importantly, Reynolds highlighted that trustee responsibility had intensified following a string of corporate collapses.
“As funds take a greater role in analysing the corporate governance strengths and weaknesses of the companies they invest in, that scrutiny will be directed back at the funds themselves,” she said.
“The global financial crisis has shown us that good governance really matters and revealed the enormous economic and social costs when boards fail to understand or manage risk.”
