As we bid farewell to yet another year, it’s an opportune time to take a look back at the most popular stories on InvestorDaily during the past 12 months.
1. Which super funds delivered the best returns in 2022?
Kicking off our list is a story on the top-performing superannuation funds of 2022. In what was a challenging year for super funds and investing more broadly, SuperRatings found that just two balanced options managed to deliver positive returns to their members.
Namely, the Perpetual Balanced Growth Fund returned 1.7 per cent for the 2022 calendar year while the First Super Balanced option eked out a gain of 0.1 per cent.
Honourable mention: Another popular super story this year was the best performing funds of the 2023 financial year, with ESSSuper’s Balanced Growth option coming out on top.
2. American Express to ‘decommission’ Australian FX offering
In an exclusive story published in May this year, InvestorDaily revealed that American Express was planning to downsize its local operations as part of a gradual unwinding of its foreign exchange offering outside the United States.
At the time, an American Express spokeswoman confirmed to InvestorDaily that the firm was “decommissioning” its Foreign Exchange International Payments (FXIP) offering for “the majority of customers” by the end of 2023.
3. Super balances over $3m to be taxed at 30%
The federal government confirmed in February that individuals with superannuation balances above $3 million will see their tax rate double to 30 per cent from 2025–26.
The changes received a mixed reaction from super funds, industry bodies and other groups. Some have welcomed the changes as a step towards fairness and sustainability in the super system, while others have accused the government of shifting the goalposts.
4. Court rules against AMP, share price tanks
In July, the Federal Court of Australia found in favour of advisers in the class action filed against AMP’s subsidiary, AMP Financial Planning, in 2020, concerning the wealth giant’s controversial decision to change its Buyer of Last Resort (BOLR) scheme.
Justice Mark Moshinsky ruled in favour of the class action group on 5 July, finding that the changes made by AMP with immediate effect were not authorised under the legislative, economic or product (LEP) provisions and “were ineffective”.
5. ASIC launches greenwashing proceedings against super fund
Rounding out our list of the most popular stories of 2023 is a significant move against greenwashing by ASIC.
In August, ASIC commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Active Super over allegations of greenwashing. The regulator has accused Active Super of misleading conduct and making misrepresentations to the market about claims that it was an ethical and responsible super fund.
This marked ASIC’s third greenwashing civil penalty proceeding following action taken against Vanguard in July and Mercer Super in February.
