The SMSF Association (SMSFA) and Financial Services Council (FSC) were proud to host the Women, Super and Wealth Summit in Sydney today. The Summit brought together a range of thought leaders from across government and financial services, placing the spotlight back on the need to ensure that the gender gap in superannuation is closed so that men and women can both have the opportunity for a secure and dignified retirement.The Summit discussed and debated key issues relating to the causes of the gender gap in superannuation and solutions that can close the gap and improve retirement and wealth outcomes for women.  The gender pay gap, further legislative reform, the need to empower girls and women for financial decision making and broader change to workplace and societal attitudes to women’s work emerged as key themes.  Read more

More than 45 million people around the world are trapped in some form of modern slavery, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index. This staggering figure involves a range of exploitative practices including human trafficking, forced labour, wage exploitation, child labour and debt bondage. But how does this relate to us, as investors, and what can we do about it? It’s an important question that was raised recently at a special briefing involving the Financial Services Council (FSC), Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). Read more

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS) about the new FSC website. We know the website is our most important brand touch point. It’s through this channel that we keep our members and our wider audience informed and up-to-date with news, insights and features. It’s important that you can easily access the information you need, from any device and any location, so we’ve developed the site to be mobile responsive with user experiences tailored to whether you’re a member or non-member. Read more

The Financial Services Council (FSC) is a member-first organisation. We are here to help you provide all Australians with a fair and financially secure future.  Everyone at the FSC is always looking ahead, focusing on what is possible for the financial services industry so we can give you, our members, the insight and support you need to stay in touch and informed, wherever you go We know that to do this well, we need to have a first-class website that delivers relevant content and exceptional user experiences. Therefore, we’re very excited to announce that we’ll soon be launching a new website that will transform the services and support you receive from the FSC. Read more

In January, Senior Policy Manager, Carla Hoorweg travelled to Japan as part of the JENESYS program. The JENESYS Programme (Japan-East Asia Network of Exchange for Students and Youths) is advanced by the Japanese government and aims to provide a sound foundation for strong solidarity within Asia through large-scale youth exchange. In this article Carla reflects on her trip. Read more

The FSC has strongly supported the Government’s policy to remove tax, social security and regulatory barriers to open the market for new retirement income stream products. These reforms have moved at glacial pace, however there have been major advances in the last twelve months that show that there is broad commitment to ensuring the reforms are a success. Read more