Ian Silk, chief executive of AustralianSuper, attributed his fund’s success at the Conexus Financial Super Awards Evening to its ability to maximize the potential of its scale.
His fund won three awards at the ceremony in Sydney; large fund of the year, default fund of the year and overall fund of the year.
Speaking to Professional Planner’s sister publication Investment Magazine, Silk said: “If you are large you have the potential to do things that other funds do not. It gives you the ability to do more with less on a per capita basis.” The trick, he said, was delivering on this potential.
And he promised the fund had a more development in the pipeline. “We are looking to increase the value members get out of the fund by virtue of increasing services and performance and decreasing investment costs and keeping administration costs at the current level.”
Silk generously used his acceptance to pay tribute to Bernie Ripoll MP who is soon to retire from federal politics, to MTAA Super and to the other finalists.
He firstly thanked Ripoll for the work he had done on the FOFA reforms, stating to the current shadow minister for financial services and superannuation who was in the audience: “What a fantastic legacy you have left of improving the consumer protections of the Australian superannuation system.”
Silk also singled out the transformation MTAA Super had made since its governance and investment crisis following the GFC. He said: “I would like to congratulate MTAA, they have had a history none of the funds in this room have had. That is an organisation that could have easily gone out the back door, but not only did they put it right, they turbo charged the organisation, such that they won the award tonight.”
Lastly, he also congratulated the other finalists in the Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards and expressed his desire that awards such as these would be ultimately used as a guide for consumers to help in choice of fund.
“All funds that are here, have championed members’ ethos, they have not just championed the rhetoric depending on what they do. And in that context it is a particular honour to win this award tonight.”
