Could superannuation help solve our healthcare funding crisis? In our latest instalment of Investment Ideas, hosts Douglas Isles and Jan Swinhoe speak with Dr Raymond Yeow, a unique voice in healthcare who combines perspectives as both a GP and an actuary. Key areas discussed include: A proposal for Health Savings Accounts within superannuation, based on […]

We’re witnessing a historic democratisation of data and AI capability. So says Zilinka Jiang in our latest instalment of Investment Ideas. In Digitisation, Zilinka sits down with hosts Jan Swinhoe and Douglas Isles to discuss the transformative potential of AI. Key areas discussed include: Practical applications in business, including how Telstra has improved customer service […]

How can retirees confidently spend their super without fear of running out? In our latest instalment of Investment Ideas, hosts Jan Swinhoe and Douglas Isles explore the challenges of the decumulation phase with Giacomo Tarantolo from Unisuper and Estelle Liu from AMP, specialists in retirement solutions. Key areas discussed include: The complexity of transitioning from […]

Are we ready for a world with fewer babies and longer lives? In the latest instalment of Investment Ideas, Demographics, Jan Swinhoe and Douglas Isles sit down with Dr David Knox AM and Associate Professor Katja Hanewald to explore the economic and investment implications of global demographic shifts. Key areas discussed include: The dual demographic […]

How do complex views on decarbonisation create investment opportunities? In the third episode of Investment Ideas, Decarbonisation, Nicolette Rubinsztein AM, incoming Chair of Greenpeace and financial services non-executive director, speaks with Jan Swinhoe about Australia’s energy transition and how diverse views on decarbonisation create opportunities for investors. Key areas discussed include: The role of gas […]

As nations continue to respond to crises by taking on more debt, are we kicking the can down the road on global debt sustainability? In the second episode of Investment Ideas, Debt, Douglas Isles sits down with Simon Warner, Head of Portfolio Management at Aware Super, to explore how investors should think about debt sustainability […]

The debut episode of“Investment Ideas”dives straight into one of the most significant forces reshaping global markets: deglobalisation. Co-hosts Jan Swinhoe and Douglas Isles speak with Belinda Cheung, Director in the Economics and Capital Markets team at Future Fund, and Annette King, non-executive director, former President of the Actuaries Institute and CEO, to explore […]

What happens when two of Australia’s most experienced investment actuaries sit down with leading experts to explore the forces shaping our financial future? The Actuaries Institute’s new podcast series“Investment Ideas”finds out. As markets grapple with profound structural changes, from a shift back to imperialism to declining birth rates globally,“Investment Ideas”pairs Jan […]

Does your superannuation or wealth management projection model allow for negative auto-correlations of share investment performance? Given their presence in the actual historical share data and their related impact on confidence intervals and on durations of cumulative positive and negative performance, the authors suggest that they should be allowed for.

For 20 years now, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has been publishing a breakdown of the annual budget for a ‘comfortable’ or ‘modest’ retirement and the estimated super balance required to achieve it. This standard is widely used by super funds as a guide for their members and by commentators more generally. But with the retirement landscape changing significantly in recent years, new retirement income products are emerging. In this article, we explore whether the new ‘lifetime’ income products can achieve the same comfortable retirement with less money.

Recent developments in superannuation and retirement income legislation are expected to provide plenty of opportunities for aspiring actuaries to shape the future of the Australian superannuation system and make positive impacts on retirement for various different generations. The Superannuation and Retirement Applications (SRA) subject offers members the opportunity to learn about the current and potential […]

As of 30 June 2024, the Australian superannuation industry holds $3.9 trillion in total assets. Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) make up over a quarter of these assets – $990 billion to be exact – demonstrating steady growth with more than 625,000 funds in operation.

This article summarises findings from our recently published Paper that reviews risks faced in the decumulation phase, and considers the problem of finding a more optimal strategy for the decumulation of retirement savings.

In this article, Cary Helenius uses the Austmod 65-year investment history to compare Group Self-Annuities (GSAs) versus Individual Drawdowns in achieving 30-year CPI indexed payment streams in high inflation environments that persisted in the 1970s and 1980s. This is the second article[1] using the 65-years from June 1959 to June 2024 of the Austmod database […]

In this article, Colin Grenfell from the Institute’s Superannuation Projections and Disclosure (SPD) Subcommittee highlights the requirements of sections 5.3 and 5.4 of Professional Guidance 499.02 (PG 499.02) relating to disclosing deflators used in retirement benefit projections. The Institute’s Professional Practice Guideline 499.02 applies: “… to any Member advising a Client or other party in […]

It has been three years since the Your Future, Your Super legislation came into effect, 1 July 2021. At the time of introduction, there was the expectation of impacts on insurance in super. We have summarised the activity over the three years, including implementation, government and industry response, and early observations.

How have different investment sectors fared against inflation over the past 65-years and what strategies produce the best results for long term CPI indexed income streams? Using Austmod’s 65-year investment history, this article illustrates how investment sectors performed against “targeted gaps” over Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the success rate of different investment strategies in […]

The term‘life expectancy‘should be treated with care when it comes to financial planning, especially if you’re estimating how long an individual’s superannuation and savings need to last. The Encyclopaedia Britannica website explains that life expectancy is:“an estimate of the average number of additional years that a person of a given age can […]

In the latest episode of ConverseAI, host Tong Zhang speaks with Estelle Liu about how data science can help address key challenges in superannuation, including large-scale projections, understanding customer lifetime value and predicting member behaviour. Exploring essential data science techniques, Tong and Estelle discuss: essential data science techniques ; the need for proper training; the […]

The opinions expressed within this article are solely the author’s and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the website or its affiliates. The information in this article is for general information only. It should not be taken as constituting financial advice. The Government should do as much as possible to help younger people […]