The annual Fund Forum International will include for the first time an Australian delegation at the Monaco conference this year to promote the Australian financial services and superannuation sector to the global asset management industry.
A panel, put together by Julie Rigoni of Freshwater Financial Marketing, consisting of six delegates will promote the capabilities of the Australian industry.
"Having attended many Fund Forum conferences in the past, it occurred to me the missing component of the program was the inclusion of Australian capabilities and consideration as an investment hub," Rigoni said.
"I approached the program director at Fund Forum in 2010 about including Australia as part of the 2011 program, an offer that was vigorously accepted."
Among the panel members is Challenger institutional business and strategic alliances general manager Matt Gaden. "We will showcase what Australia has to offer in terms of the superannuation market and financial services sector," Gaden said.
The panel would explain how the value chain of the funds management industry worked and what opportunities the mandated growth of the super industry offered, he said.
"In the past, some foreign managers haven't realised the process and time frame it takes to get products up and running. Even on the superannuation side it can take two to three years from cradle to delivery [of a product]," he said.
The promotion of the Australian funds management industry is timely as the government has repealed the foreign investment fund rules, and there is hope the foreign accumulation fund regime will make it easier for foreign managers to introduce products into this market.
Australian Trade Commission financial services global leader Gary Johnston, who is part of the panel speaking at the conference, would address the legislative issues in his presentation, Gaden said.
Apart from Gaden and Johnston, the delegation consists of Equity Trustees head of EQT corporate fiduciary and financial services Harvey Kalman, PricewaterhouseCoopers taxation partner Bill Testa, Mercer senior partner David Knox on behalf of Invest Victoria and Hyperion Asset Management managing director Manny Pohl.
The forum will take place from 27 June to 1 July.
