The Trustee is delighted to be able to report consistently outstanding investment returns for the year ending 30 June 2011, resulting in AvSuper joining the ranks of Australia’s ‘Top 10′ super funds for investment performance this year.

In fact, Selecting Super (part of the Rainmaker group) rated AvSuper’s investment performance 7th (out of 78) super funds this year based on returns for our default investment option.

Members in the Growth investment option (the default for members who do not make a choice) of AvSuper’s accumulation division can look forward to seeing double digit returns  on their member statements this year, with a net investment return for the full financial year of 11.1% (after investment fees and taxes).  This return compares very favourably to the benchmark and median investment returns of between 8% and 9% for many other super funds, including many of the largest industry and retail super funds in the country.

AvSuper’s size and agility gives us access to proven investment expertise in our Directors, Management team and our external advisers without any of the anonymity of larger funds.  When you deal with AvSuper, you can count on dealing with people that know super and know you and your account – not an anonymous  call centre.

AvSuper’s boutique, highly personalised and profit-for-members approach mean all investment decisions are made to increase your super assets for the lowest possible cost. 

The Trustee’s Investment Committee – chaired by George Fishlock, an employee representative Director (and Air Traffic Controller) – has a rigorous approach to investment governance and a highly disciplined review and monitoring framework which drives investment performance and portfolio positioning.

To find out more about our investment returns for AvSuper’s other investment options, including returns for our retirement income streams, visit the investment centre on our website.

Michelle

Michelle Griffiths
CEO, AvSuper

Note that past performance is not always indicative of future performance.

Following a comprehensive review and due diligence process, AvSuper’s Investment Committee is pleased to announce a new manager in our  Growth Alternatives portfolio, Bentham Asset Management.

Importantly, investing in Bentham’s syndicated loan fund provides for a well diversified exposure to a global syndicated loan market which typically proves equity like returns with a lower risk profile than investing directly in equities.

Syndicated loans (or bank loans or leveraged loans as they are also called) are made by banks to high rating companies and rank high in the capital structure of those companies which means greater security and lower risk while being supported by attractive yields across different industries, locations and issuers with an overall focus of generating stable income.

Bentham Asset Management has offices in Australia, New York and London. The Australian team has a strong track record of managing global diversified fixed interest portfolios and are well resourced with market leading risk portfolio systems.

Did you know that you can tell us how you want to have your super distributed when you die?

From 1 July 2011, AvSuper members can choose to make binding beneficiary nominations instead of non-binding nominations (which just guide the Trustee). Either way, it is your choice and it doesn’t cost anything to make a nomination.

A binding nomination must be followed by the Trustee as long as it meets the following rules:

• witnessed by two adults not listed as beneficiaries
• signed within the last 3 years
• the beneficiaries are your dependants under super law

You can read more about binding and non-binding beneficiary nominations on our website or complete a beneficiary nominations form to make your choice. Or contact us directly with any questions about making your nomination.

I am pleased to welcome Leyman Leyes as the newest member of the AvSuper Team in his capacity as our Member Services Consultant.

Leyman has a strong superannuation background, including experience with both accumulation and defined benefit arrangements.  He also has practical experience with financial planning and member advice requirements, which means he can very competently support AvSuper members with all queries you might direct to us.

As you know, we are very proud of our long history of providing you with personalised support from an experienced Trustee team – not an anonymous call centre. I am confident that Leyman will be a valued addition to our Member Services team, and I look forward to members meeting him over the phone and in our offices over the coming weeks and months.

Michelle

Michelle Griffiths
CEO, AvSuper

AvSuper uses external service providers to assist the Trustee with many Fund functions, such as administration services which include processing contributions to your account, making benefit payments and issuing member statements.

We are pleased to advise members that following a comprehensive administration benchmarking review in late 2010, we have successfully transferred  AvSuper’s administration to a new provider, Russell Employee Benefits. The Trustee is confident that Russell has the capacity and capabilities to provide a high standard of administration services, now and in the future.

What impact does this have on you as a member?

During the transition, which took place at the end of March 2011, we are pleased to say that members experienced no disruption to services. Even now, you can continue to make contributions, visit member online for account information or switch options, call us for help or personal advice, and so on.

Looking forward, we anticipate  being able to introduce a number of enhancements and improvements, particularly to our online services, over the coming months and will keep you informed as these are progressed.

Michelle

Michelle Griffiths
CEO

The AvSuper Team and Trustee extend our sympathies to the Japanese people who are dealing with the catastrophic events of the last week under extremely difficult conditions.

As the world continues to experience what seems like an unabating stream of natural disasters in recent months, we are receiving member requests for more information about the likely economic impact of these disasters, including on their super.

While investment markets in Australia and globally have reacted very negatively to these events this week, AvSuper’s overall exposure to Japanese investment assets is relatively small, currently less than 3% of the Fund overall. The majority of this exposure is currency, equities and bonds with a very small property exposure and we hold no long term concerns at this stage for individual holdings. While some of our  fund managers’ teams live or work in Japan to manage these assets for us, we have been able to ascertain that none have been significantly disrupted as they were not located in the worst affected areas.

Clearly, the pricing volatility in global markets seen this week demonstrates current uncertainty regarding the extent of the risks posed by Japan’s disaster. The AvSuper Investment Committee continues to watch the situation carefully and expects that as the situation and the economic outlook becomes clearer, market volatility will subside.

If you have any queries about AvSuper’s investments in general or our Japanese exposure in particular, please contact us on 1800 805 088.

Michelle

Michelle Griffiths,
CEO

Happy International Women’s Day!

Would you be surprised to hear that the average woman retires with only $63,000 in super? Given national guidelines of $20,981 a year to fund a modest single lifestyle, it’s likely that many women will not have financial independence after retirement.

At AvSuper, we are committed to helping people prepare for retirement and want to help change this situation for women. During March we are focussing on providing information to help women build their super. You will find targeted fact sheets have been added to our site on our AvSuper and women page.

As part of our continuous development for members, we are pleased to announce the launch of part two of our Member Advice Solution.

AvSuper Calculator is an interactive website tool to help you see for yourself how making additional contributions and changing your investment options could make a big difference to your super (even if retirement still seems a long way off!) You can also use the calculator to help you review your insurance cover options.

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As the impact of the floods and cyclones across Queensland is still being felt and assessed, we can report to members that AvSuper property assets in Queensland are still in good condition with no material impact.

Less than 15% of our property portfolio was exposed to the floods and cyclones in Queensland, and fortunately no substantial damage was caused by either disaster to any of our assets.

All of our property holdings in Queensland were monitored and cared for to the best extent possible during each crisis, with only minor damage occurring for a small number. We are waiting for our eligible insurance claims to be assessed however we can easily recover from  the small amount of damage involved; in fact some minor repair work has already commenced.

While our thoughts and sympathy remain with our members and employers affected by these natural disasters, we continue to monitor all our investments in the best interest of all our members.

Michelle

Michelle Griffiths
CEO

Part of AvSuper’s commitment to members is to regularly review all our investments and investment managers to ensure they are benefiting members in an effective and prudent manner for the long term. A recent review has resulted in the appointment of Independent Franchise Partnership (IFP).

IFP is a global equities manager which aims to generate attractive investment returns while minimising business and valuation risk, using the purchase of franchise businesses as their tool. They seek strong business franchises with intangible assets that can’t be easily replicated with capital. The chosen franchises are positioned to meet customer needs for years or even generations.

The AvSuper Investment Committee believes that IFP’s portfolio of exceptionally high quality companies with a competitive advantage and a dominant intangible asset should earn good long-term returns with a below average absolute volatility.

IFP replaces Wellington as one of AvSuper’s international equities managers.

Michelle

Michelle Griffiths
CEO AvSuper