Our governance and disclosures.
Our corporate governance is designed to protect and enhance the interests of members, while also taking into account the interests of other stakeholders, including employees, providers and the community.
As an industry super fund, Hostplus is run to benefit members. We are proud of our governance practices, which facilitate fairness, transparency and accountability. We are governed by three independent directors, including an independent Chair, three employer directors and three employee directors.
Host-Plus Pty Limited (Hostplus) is the trustee for the Hostplus Superannuation Fund (the ‘Fund’). The Hostplus Superannuation Fund is governed and managed by our Trustee Board. The Hostplus Board represents our members in accordance with the Hostplus Trust Deed and superannuation law. They also ensure that Hostplus meets Federal Government requirements for the fair and safe operation of the fund.
The Hostplus Board is responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the Fund, with the aim of protecting and enhancing the interests of members, taking into account the interest of other stakeholders, including employees, employers and the wider community.
The Hostplus Board is committed to effective corporate governance, to fairness, transparency and accountability in the way it operates. We believe that in attracting and retaining members to the Fund, it is beneficial for the Board to sponsor and partner with certain organisations in the hospitality, tourism, recreation and sport industries we serve. The Board will only partner with organisations that have robust corporate governance and Board accountability in place.
The Hostplus Board does not make political donations or support individual political parties. We are cognisant of our responsibility to all Fund members, no matter what political ideology they hold.
The Hostplus governing rules are contained within two documents; the Constitution and two Trust Deeds – one for the Superannuation Fund and the other for the Pooled Superannuation Trust (PST). The constitution of Host-Plus Pty Limited is the body of fundamental principles that govern the Trustee. Both Trust Deeds set out the rules for the established and ongoing operations of the Superannuation Fund and the PST – the latter is the vehicle whereby Hostplus transfers all investments.
You can download the Constitution here
Board composition
The Hostplus Board comprises three employer representative directors, nominated by the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) and three employee representative directors, nominated by United Voice, as well as three independent directors jointly selected by the AHA and United Voice. Our Board is chaired by one of Hostplus’ independent directors.
Board Charter
The Board Charter details the key policies and processes that the Board has in place for the governance of the Fund and principal areas of the Board’s role and responsibility including strategic planning, corporate culture and the monitoring and evaluation of management and stewardship.
Board nomination
Directors are appointed to the Hostplus Board in accordance with the Hostplus Constitution and the Fit and Proper policy. The Founding Members (Australian Hotels Association ‘AHA’ and United Voice) are responsible for nominating employer and member representative directors respectively. Independent directors are appointed by the Founding Members, or failing agreement by the Founding Members, by the Selection Committee.
The Founding Members consider and assess each potential candidate prior to a new Board member being appointed. This is to ensure that the Hostplus Board remains open to new ideas and independent thought while retaining adequate expertise to comply with the requirements of the SIS Act, performing its trustee duties and the exercising of trustee powers in the best interest of the members.
Board appointment
Directors are appointed for a three-year term. At the conclusion of each term, the nominating body either renews the term of the existing director or appoints another representative. For independent directors, the Founding Members must reach agreement on the appointment or re-appointment of the independent directors (as the case may be) in each relevant year by 16 May. The remaining two independent directors must also agree to the appointment of the third independent director. If the Founding Members fail to reach agreement by this date, the Selection Committee must appoint or reappoint the independent directors (as the case may be) by no later than 30 June in each relevant year.
In assessing directors, the Founding Members will consider the overall balance of the Board, taking into account stability, longevity, skillset, experience, corporate knowledge and whether an individual’s period of tenure on the Board could, or be perceived to, materially interfere with their ability to act in the best interests of the members.
Each nominating body may elect to appoint an alternate director to represent appointed directors in their absence. The Chair of the Hostplus Board (who must be an independent director) is elected by the Board.
Removal of directors
The general procedure for the removal of directors is set out in the constitution of the Trustee. The constitution details how and when a director needs to be removed from the directorship of the Trustee Company.
Any director elected by the Founding Members may be removed by the Founding Members whenever the best interests of the members would be served - including non-compliance with the Hostplus Fit and Proper Policy, in the Founding Member’s judgement and in accordance with the constitution. A director may also resign by giving written notice to the trustee.
Under the Trust Deed of the Fund, the Hostplus Board has the ability to delegate its powers and responsibilities to Committees of the Board. Currently, the Hostplus Board has established the following Committees:
| Committee |
Chair |
Members |
Role |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee (ARCC) |
Peter Collins |
Timothy Lyons, Mark Robertson |
The role of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee is to oversee the financial reporting, regulatory, legislative, risk management and taxation activities of the Fund. |
|
Claims Review Committee (CRC) |
Robyn Buckler |
Robert Hinkley, |
The role of the Claims Review Committee is to review members’ claims rejected by the insurer. |
|
People and Remuneration Committee (P&RC) |
David Gibson |
David Elmslie, Timothy Lyons |
The role of the People and Remuneration Committee is to oversee the remuneration strategies of the Fund and make recommendations to the Hostplus Board in respect of executive remuneration. |
|
Nomination and Board Renewal Committee (NBRC) |
David Elmslie |
Mark Robertson, Tim Lyons |
The role of the NBRC will be to make recommendations to the Board for the appointment of representatives to the Board’s sub committees and any organisations to which the Board makes appointments (for example entities that Hostplus invests in). The NBRC will also make any recommendations to the Founding Members that relate to the composition of the Board. |
|
Special Investment Group (SIG) |
|
David Elmslie, Mark Robertson, Tim Lyons, David Gibson |
The SIG is responsible for considering, reviewing and approving recommendations from the Trustee’s Investment Advisor relating to direct investments and co-investments in property, infrastructure and private equity asset classes via pooled investment vehicles or mandates. All investment decisions made by the SIG on behalf of the Board must be made in accordance with the investment policies approved by the Board. |
Each Committee operates in accordance with its Terms of Reference.
Every year the Hostplus Board and Committees undertake a performance assessment process using the services of an external consultant annually to assess and benchmark the performance of the Board and Committees.
The Board of Hostplus have approved a number of policies that assist in managing the governance responsibilities of the Fund. Such policies include:
- Fit and proper policy – sets out Hostplus’ processes for assessing and monitoring the fitness and propriety of responsible persons and senior managers.
- Outsourcing policy - sets out Hostplus’ processes for appointing, assessing, monitoring and terminating of material outsourced service providers.
- Risk management framework - sets out Hostplus’ approach to risk management, how the trustee identifies, assesses, mitigates, manages, monitors and regularly reports on risk.
- Conflicts management policy – sets out processes and procedures Hostplus has adopted to manage conflicts of interests.
- Code of conduct policy - sets out Hostplus’ expectations and requirements of its directors and staff including contractors - their responsibilities and obligations relating to various matters including confidentiality, privacy, conflicts of interest and other principles and behaviours.
- Fraud policy – sets out Hostplus’ expectations and requirements of its directors and staff and their responsibilities and obligations relating to fraud awareness, governance and oversight, internal controls and fraud management and investigation procedures.
- Whistleblowing policy - sets out Hostplus’ expectations and requirements of its directors and staff and their responsibilities and obligations relating to its whistleblowing mechanism and reporting procedures to protect the interests of individuals acting in good faith and reporting suspected incidents of misconduct.
- Diversity policy – sets out Hostplus’ expectations and requirements of its directors and staff and their responsibilities and obligations relating to managing diversity throughout the Hostplus organisation, and respecting diversity in the wider community. This includes maintaining a workplace environment that supports diversity and is free from discrimination, hostility, harassment, bullying and victimisation.
- Gift and hospitality policy - sets out Hostplus’ expectations and requirements of its directors and staff and their responsibilities and obligations relating to being offered and/or accepting any type of gift, hospitality or benefit, or free access to entertainment which may be related to their capacity as Hostplus directors and staff.
The Hostplus Board has a compliance program which formalises the structure and processes to meet legislative and regulatory requirements, including relevant prudential standards and contractual obligations. The compliance program has two tiers:
- “The compliance framework”, is the structure Hostplus employs to manage the compliance requirements; and
- “Policy documents & standards”, is a listing of policy documents and standards adopted at Hostplus.
The Hostplus Board risk framework consists of:
- The Risk Management Strategy (RMS) which outlines the Board’s approach to risk management. It includes how we identify, access, mitigate, manage, monitor and report on risk;
- Risk Appetite Statements (RAS) which is a formal declaration of the Board’s risk appetite and articulates how much risk the Board is willing to accept in order to achieve its strategic and business objectives; and
- Material Risk Register (MRR) and Key Risk Indicators (KRI) which contain details of material risks impacting the Fund and captures the risk assessment, risk tolerance and mitigating controls of all the identified material risks.
The Hostplus Board appoints an external auditor to undertake an annual audit of the Fund’s financial statements and regulatory returns to ensure compliance with legislative requirements. An independent audit opinion is issued at the conclusion of the audit providing assurance over the integrity of the financial statements and compliance with legislative requirements. The external auditor reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
The appointed internal auditor is responsible for providing further assurance over the control environment of the Fund and Trustee. An annual internal audit program is developed by the internal auditor in conjunction with the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee who oversees the performance of the internal auditor. The internal auditor reports to the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee.
|
Director/alternate director |
Full Board meeting of directors |
|||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-June-18 | 30-June-17 | 30 -Jun-16 | 30-Jun-15 | 30-Jun-14 | 30-Jun-13 | 30-Jun-12 | ||||||||
| A | B | A | B | A | B | A | B | A | B | A | B | A | B | |
| David Elmslie | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Robyn Buckler | 2(#) | - | 3(^^) | - | 6(#)(++) | 2 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Peter Collins | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Brian Daley | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | ||||||
| David Gibson | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | ||
| Bob Hinkley | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Mark Robertson | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Mark Vaile | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | ||
| Troy Burton | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | ||||||||
| Rebecca Stark | 1 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 4(+) | 3 | 1(#) | 3(#) | ||||
| Alexandra Grayson | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6(*) | 6 | ||||
| Neil Randall | 4(#)(^^^) | - | 2 (^) | - | 4(#)(^^^) | 5 | 5(#)(^) | 4(#) | 2(#) | 8 | 8 | |||
| David McElrea | 4 | 4 | 5(#)(**) | 5 | 3(#)(^^) | |||||||||
| Tim Lyons | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6(#)(**) | 6 | 1(#) | |||||||
| Bevan Douglas | 8 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| Bev Myers1 | 7(+++) | 7 | 2 | 3 | ||||||||||
| Judith Ann Hill | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | ||||||||||
A = Number of meetings attended including where an alternate may have attended on behalf of the appointed director.
B = Number of meetings held during the time the director held office.
# Alternate directors are invited to attend Board meetings as an observer.
* Attended 1 meeting as an observer prior to appointment as a full director.
+ Attended 2 meetings as an observer prior to appointment as a full director.
^ Attended 2 meetings as an observer.
^^ Attended 1 meeting as an observer.
** Attended 1 meeting as Alternate Director.
++ Attended 3 meetings as an Alternate Director and one as observer following cessation of appointment as full director.
^^^ Attended 1 meeting as Alternate Director and 3 as observer.
1 B Myers was appointed the Alternate Director for J Hill in the Board Meeting held on the 15 September 2017. Consequently, B Myers was assigned two voting rights.
Hostplus will always advise its members about any material changes to the Fund - particularly when the outcome will impact their retirement savings. A change or event includes any decisions that will affect a member's investment, including a change to fees and costs, the benefit design, such as insurance cover and premiums or instances where a member's benefit may be transferred without their consent.
The key message announcing the decisions and impact is referred to as a significant event notice (SEN) which is sent to affected members. Hostplus aim is to provide information to members in a clear, concise manner that will enable our members to understand the nature of the change or event and the effect it could have on them.
Timing of a Significant Event Notice (SEN)
- A change or event which is an increase in fees, but not because of increased costs will be sent at least 30 days before it occurs.
- A change or event which is an increase in fees as a result of increased costs will be sent as soon as possible but not later than three months after the change or event occurs.
- A change that is not an increase in fees and is not adverse will be sent within 12 months of the change.
| Notice date |
Nature of event/change |
Impact of change |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Financial year 2018/19 |
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|
23 April 2019 |
Changes under Protecting Your Super legislation |
Protecting Your Super legislation introduced several changes such as:
|
||||||||||||||||||
| 10 September 2018 The full 10 September 2018 SEN is available here. |
Annual changes to disclosure of fees and costs |
Each financial year Hostplus calculates the total Indirect Cost Ratio (ICR) and Investment Fee, Borrowing Costs and Property Operating Costs for all Hostplus investment options. The 30 June 2018 investment related fees that are deducted from gross earnings before they are applied to your account are provided in the SEN to reflect the updates made to all Hostplus Member Guides on 29 August 2018. |
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| 10 September 2018 |
Correction to Choiceplus fees and costs disclosure |
Hostplus has not previously disclosed the investment fee and indirect cost ratio that was deducted from gross interest earnings on a Choiceplus member’s transaction account. No loss resulted to Choiceplus members because of the omission. |
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| 10 September 2018 |
Change to the 10-year return target for the Balanced (MySuper) investment option |
From 1 July 2018 the Balanced (MySuper) investment option return target changed to CPI + 3.0%. |
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|
Financial year 2017/18 |
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| 4 December 2017 |
Hostplus moved from crediting rates to a unit pricing model |
From 13 November 2017 Hostplus moved to daily unit pricing to calculate and report on members’ account balances. Unit prices for each investment option reflect changes in the value of the assets of each investment option and are used to determine the percentage investment returns over time. This change did not affect members’ account values. |
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| 4 December 2017 |
New investment objectives and strategic asset allocations for some investment options |
Following the fund's annual review, Hostplus changed the Investment Ranges and Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) from 27 September 2017 for Balanced, Capital Stable, Conservative Balanced, Indexed Balanced and Shares Plus.
Return targets changed for Capital Stable, Indexed balanced, Cash and IFM – Australian shares. |
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| 4 December 2017 |
Changes to disclosure of fees and costs |
Effective 27 September 2017 Hostplus began disclosing underlying costs in accordance with the enhanced fee disclosure regulations. These fees are not deducted directly from members' accounts.
Hostplus now discloses a new subcategory of fees called transactional and operational costs incurred during investing which is included in the new Indirect Cost Ratio (ICR).
An additional category of fees such as borrowing and property operating costs are now also disclosed. These are not deducted directly from members' account balances. |
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| 4 December 2017 |
Change to investment risk for some investment options |
Hostplus made changes to the level of investment risk on 28 March 2017 and again on 27 September 2017. Investment risk from 28 March 2017 changed for Balanced, Diversified Fixed Interest, Australian Shares, Macquarie Investment Management – AFI, BlackRock Asset Management – IFI, IFM – Australian Infrastructure, Balanced Equity Management – Australian shares, IFM – Australian shares, Paradice Investment Management (small cap).
Investment risk from 27 September 2017 changed for Balanced, Conservative Balanced, Diversified Fixed Interest, Australian Shares, IFM – Australian Infrastructure, Balanced Equity Management – Australian Shares, IFM – Australian Shares, Paradice Investment Management (small cap), Lend Lease Australian Prime Property Fund & Industry Super Property Trust. |
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| 4 December 2017 |
Introduction of new investment options |
From 27 September 2017 Hostplus introduced two new investment options: International Shares – Indexed and International Shares (Hedged) – Indexed. |
||||||||||||||||||
| 4 December 2017 |
Automatic reduction to insurance premiums |
Effective 1 July 2017, Hostplus members with Death and TPD insurance were automatically moved to the new reduced insurance premium structure. No changes were made to benefit amounts or definitions. |
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| 4 December 2017 |
Changes to superannuation law |
From 1 July 2017 several changes to superannuation law came into effect such as: reduction to concessional and non-concessional contributions cap, introduction of the general and personal transfer balance cap, reduction of Division 293 tax threshold, introduction of LISTO, extension of eligibility for claiming a tax deduction for personal contributions, changes to DASP tax amounts, taxation of investment earnings within Transition-to-Retirement (TTR) accounts and closure of the Choiceplus investment option to TTR members. |
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| 4 December 2017 |
New investment option |
From 28 March 2017 Hostplus introduced to Pension and Accumulation members, a new Socially Responsible Investment option.
Also, the following listed investment Companies (LICs) were made available via the Choiceplus platform – Australian Foundation Investment Company, Argo Investments Limited & Milton Corporation Limited. |
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|
Financial year 2016/17 |
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| 14 December 2016 |
Termination of Ironbridge Capital Management – International Shares |
Effective 26 December 2016, the Ironbridge Capital Management – International Shares investment option will be closed.
Hostplus is responsible for selecting investment managers, monitoring their progress and determining the overall investment profile of the fund. Sometimes, a decision may be made to remove an investment manager as a result of investment performance, change in key personnel, or a shift in a manager's style or Hostplus investment strategies.
In consideration of continued underperformance to relative benchmarks Hostplus has determined it is appropriate to terminate its agreements with Ironbridge and close the Ironbridge Capital Management - International Shares option from 26 December 2016.
Hostplus members invested in the Ironbridge Capital Management option were advised by email and letter on 28 November 2016 to move their investment to another Hostplus investment option before 26 December 2016. If no action is taken by the member, their investment will be moved to the Hostplus Balanced investment option.
Hostplus Pension members were similarly notified on 28 November 2016. Where a Hostplus Pension member does not move their investment in the Ironbridge Capital Management option by 26 December 2016, their investment will be moved to the Hostplus Cash option. |
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| 27 September 2016 | ICR Disclosures |
In September 2016 it was discovered that a performance fee for one of our underlying managers was overstated in the disclosure of the Hostplus Indirect Cost Ratio (ICR) which impacted the below listed investment options, as follows.
For more information on the Hostplus ICR please refer to the Hostplus Member Guide. The overstatement in the performance fee impacted the following Hostplus fees and costs disclosures:
Hostplus members have not been materially impacted by the overstatement in ICR disclosures as investment returns remain unaffected by the change and are correctly attributed to member accounts. Replacement disclosures have also been issued and a notice placed on the Hostplus website. |
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| 19 September 2016 | Changes to insurance arrangements |
Hostplus recently reviewed its group life insurance arrangements and as a result have amended some rules within our insurance offering.
Terminal illness cover (certification period extended)
Previously, under terminal illness conditions, members were able to claim a life insurance benefit following a declaration from two medical practitioners (including one who specialises in the illness or condition) that death is likely to occur within 12 months (‘certification period’). |
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| 12 August 2016 | New Strategic Assets Allocations for the Shares Plus investment option | Effective 14 August 2016, Hostplus revised the Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) for the Shares Plus investment option. The overall allocation to Australian and international equities, direct property, private equity, and alternatives remained unchanged. The allocation to diversified fixed interest was reduced to zero and there was an increased allocation to both infrastructure and credit (growth and defensive). The revised SAAs were published within Section 5 of the Superannuation and Personal Super Product Disclosure Statement and Pension Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement dated 12 August 2016. All members will be notified within the 2015-2016 annual report. |
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| Financial year 2015/16 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 22 December 2015 | Qualified Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) changes | The Trustee would like to remind members that from 6 April 2015, Australian superannuation funds must meet the UK pension test to remain a Qualified Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) and therefore be eligible to accept a transfer in from a United Kingdom Pension Scheme or another QROPS without incurring UK tax charges. Australian legislation and our fund rules mean that we do not currently meet these requirements. To protect member interests the Trustee has placed a stop on all QROP transfers. As a result of the changes, UK tax relieved funds (QROPS benefits) held by existing members may not be able to be released before preservation age, unless as a result of ill-health. Rollovers between Australian Superannuation Funds that contain UK benefits may also be unable to be processed unless it is to a QROPS compliant fund. This notification will also appear in the 31 December 2015 member statements. |
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| 31 December 2015 | Lost members thresholds |
Proposed changes to lost member and unclaimed money legislation has recently been passed into law which increases the account balance threshold below which small lost member accounts are required to be transferred to the ATO from $2,000 to $4,000 effective 31 December 2015 and from $4,000 to $6,000 effective 31 December 2016.
Superannuation Trustees will also be required to re-report (on/by 30 April 2016) all lost and inactive members on their records as at 31 December 2015, irrespective of whether the members have previously been reported to the ATO. |
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| 24 November 2015 | Qualified Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) changes |
In correspondence to impacted members (dated June 2015), it was advised that:
Hostplus would be unable to process UK pension transfers or apply to members’ accounts UK benefit transfers received on or after 6 April 2015; with the intention to return UK pension benefits back to the originating scheme noted. |
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| 4 September 2015 | New Strategic Assets Allocations for some investment options |
From 4 September 2015, Hostplus revised the Investment Ranges and Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) Benchmarks for the Capital Stable, Conservative Balanced, Indexed Balanced, Balanced, Shares Plus, International Shares, IronBridge Capital Management – International Shares and Neuberger Berman – International Shares options. While the overall allocation to listed equities has remained unchanged, the mix of equities has been altered with a slight reduction to the SAA for Australian equities, and an increase to the SAA for International equities. The revised SAAs were published within section 2 of the Superannuation and Personal Super Product Disclosure Statement and Pension Supplementary Product Disclosure Statement dated 4 September 2015. All members were notified within the 2014-2015 annual report. |
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| 1 September 2015 | Compass Group insurance update | From 1 October 2015 a new default insurance arrangement will be implemented for Hostplus Executive members employed by Compass Group. Members affected by the new arrangement were contacted in the form of a Significant Event Notice mailed in September 2015 advising of the upcoming changes. Members were provided with instructions outlining how to; accept the new default insurance, retain the existing arrangement, tailor their cover to their specific needs or to cancel their insurance. |
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| 17 August 2015 | Changes to our insurance product | Effective from 26 September 2015, Hostplus will make changes to our insurance product to give members a discounted premium of 3% across our range of Death and Total & Permanent Disablement (TPD) insurance.
Under the new design, the unit value is smaller, giving members greater flexibility when choosing the amount of cover they need. For some members, when converting current units to the new design, it will be necessary to allocate an additional unit to preserve, at a minimum, the members’ existing insurance cover and prevent any reduction that would otherwise have occurred on conversion. Where exact matching is not possible, any change will result in an incremental increase to the members’ benefits, along with a small increase in overall premium. Affected members will be notified by letter. |
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|
Financial year 2014/15 |
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|
6 Apr 2015 |
Qualified Registered Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) changes |
From 6 April 2015, Australian superannuation funds must meet the UK pension test to remain a QROPS and therefore be eligible to accept a transfer in from a United Kingdom pension scheme without incurring UK tax charges. Australian legislation and our fund rules mean that we do not currently meet these requirements. To protect member interests we have stopped accepting UK pension transfers and intend to return any UK pension benefits received on or after 6 April 2015. As a result of these changes, at this point in time, benefits held by existing members who have previously transferred from a UK pension scheme are unable to be released before preservation age, unless as a result of ill-health. Affected members will be notified by letter. |
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This section summarises the current Hostplus Conflicts Management Policy (Policy). A new summary will be disclosed, if any further amendments are made to the Policy, within such time as required by Law.
Introduction
The Policy sets out the processes and procedures that Host-Plus Pty Limited (Hostplus) as Trustee of the Hostplus Superannuation Fund (the Fund) has adopted to identify, assess and manage Conflicts of Interest that may arise during the provision of superannuation services to Fund members.
The Policy has been designed to comply with the APRA Standard SPS 521 "Conflicts of Interest" and the requirements under sections 52 and 52A of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS Act).
The Policy applies to all Hostplus Registerable Superannuation Entity (RSE) Licensee Responsible Persons and Specified Employees.
Maintenance of conflicts management framework
Hostplus has a conflicts management framework to ensure that practical arrangements (i.e. measure, processes and procedures) must be implemented and maintained. It is designed to reflect the nature, scale and complexity of Hostplus’ operations.
Role of Board and Directors’ duties
Hostplus’ Board of Directors (Board) is ultimately responsible for the development and maintenance of its Conflicts Management Framework, including this Policy. It must also take all reasonable steps to ensure that Hostplus staff clearly understands:
- the need to identify all actual and potential Conflicts of Interest,
- the circumstances that might give rise to a Conflict of Interest;
- the content and purpose of Hostplus’ Conflicts Management Framework, including this Policy; and
- their obligations under the Policy.
Policy Summary
Under the Policy:
- both Hostplus, itself, and certain members of Hostplus’ staff (including but not limited to the Board, Senior Management, and other staff that Hostplus determines should be included);
- certain service providers; and
- certain associates of Hostplus,
must disclose certain interests they personally hold and duties they owe to third parties as and when they arise. These interests and duties, if deemed relevant, must be registered on the consolidated Register of Relevant Interests and Duties, which can be accessed here:
Relevant Interests and Duties Register
The Board periodically reviews the Register to determine whether any Conflicts of Interest may arise that could affect the Fund and its members. If a Conflict of Interest is identified, Hostplus must determine whether to manage or avoid the Conflict of Interest. In certain cases, Conflicts of Interest cannot be avoided, and these will be managed, in accordance with the requirements of the Law, including but not limited to the SIS Act and Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
Relevant Interest
A Relevant Interest is any interest, gift, emolument or benefit (for example earnings, dividends, payments, capital gains, rights or profits) whether pecuniary or non-pecuniary, directly or indirectly obtained or offered that Hostplus considers to be relevant because it has the potential to have a significant impact on Hostplus’ capacity to act in a manner that is consistent with its Trustee duties.
Relevant Duty
A relevant duty is a duty that a person may owe to a third party (for example, as a director or employee of that third party) that Hostplus considers to be relevant because it has the potential to have a significant impact on Hostplus’ capacity to act in a manner that is consistent with its Trustee duties.
Conflict of Interest
Put simply, a Conflict of Interest arises if a person’s Relevant Interest or Relevant Duty is likely to affect his or her ability to make an impartial decision or judgement that he or she is required to make for the benefit of the Fund’s members.
Identification, disclosure and recording of Relevant Interests and Relevant Duties and subsequent Conflicts of Interest
Relevant Interests and Relevant Duties will remain disclosed on the Registers until the relevant person no longer holds that interest or owes the duty, or no longer is employed by, provides services to, or is associated with Hostplus.
Each person must ensure that their Relevant Interests and Relevant Duties are disclosed on the Register on a periodic basis or when a change to their interests or duties arises during their tenure.
Over time certain Relevant Interests or Relevant Duties may or may not be considered to create Conflicts of Interest, and this will depend upon the relevant circumstances at the time. Hostplus may maintain a Conflicts of Interest register, in order to aid it in managing and avoiding Conflicts of Interest, but is under no obligation to disclose this to members.
Management and monitoring of conflicts of interest
The Law requires Hostplus and the Board to manage Conflicts of Interest. The aim of the Hostplus Board is to avoid Conflicts of Interest. However, there might be circumstances where the avoidance of Conflicts of Interest will not always be possible or prudentially practical. The Board will identify, analyse and evaluate all such conflicts and then determine whether to avoid a particular Conflict of Interest or accept and act notwithstanding the Conflict of Interest, subject to any management controls. Any Conflict of Interest that cannot be avoided must be managed, as is reasonable in the circumstances, but always so that priority is given firstly to the interests of members and beneficiaries.
The Hostplus trustee has engaged the key service providers listed below to assist the trustee in delivering Hostplus products and services.
An outsourcing policy has been implemented to assist in the appointment, overseeing and management of these service providers.
|
Services outsourced |
Appointed service provider |
ABN of Appointed service provider |
|---|---|---|
|
Fund Administrator |
Australian Administration Services Pty Ltd (Member of the Link Group of companies) |
62 003 429 114 |
|
Custodian |
Citigroup Pty Limited |
88 004 325 080 |
| Pacific Custodians Pty Limited | 66 009 682 866 | |
|
Clearing House Services |
Westpac Banking Corporation |
33 007 457 141 |
|
Direct Investment - Platform provider |
UBS AG |
47 088 129 613 |
|
External auditor |
PricewaterhouseCoopers |
52 780 433 757 |
| Enterprise Technology Services | Dimension Data Australia Pty Ltd | 65 003 317 239 |
|
Financial Planning services |
Industry Fund Services Limited |
54 007 016 195 |
|
Group life insurer |
MetLife Insurance Limited |
75 004 274 882 |
|
Internal auditor |
KPMG Australia |
51 194 660 183 |
|
Investment adviser |
Jana Investment Advisers Pty Ltd |
97 006 717 568 |
| Investment Management | Airlie Funds Management Pty Ltd | 75 159 022 974 |
| Allan Gray Australia Pty Ltd | 48 112 316 168 | |
| Apollo ST Fund Management LLC | N/A | |
| Barings LLC | 41 132 880 007 | |
| Baillie Gifford Overseas Limited | N/A | |
| Balanced Equity Management Pty Limited | 78 006 987 613 | |
| BCP3 Pty Ltd | 32 604 871 481 | |
| Colonial First State Property Limited | 20 085 313 926 | |
| Cooper Investors Pty Limited | 26 100 409 890 | |
| Greencape Capital Pty Ltd | 98 120 328 529 | |
| Hosking Partners LLP | N/A | |
| IFM Investors Pty Ltd | 67 107 247 727 | |
| Independent Franchise Partners, LLP | N/A | |
| Investec Asset Management Australia Pty Limited | 52 131 940 451 | |
| ISPT Pty Ltd | 28 064 041 283 | |
| L1 Capital Pty Ltd | 21 125 378 145 | |
| Lend Lease Investment Management Pty Limited | 64 068 103 659 | |
| Macquarie Investment Management Global Limited | 90 086 159 060 | |
| Martin Currie Investment Management Limited | N/A | |
| Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. | N/A | |
| Neuberger Berman Australia Pty Limited | 90 146 033 801 | |
| Northcape Capital Pty Ltd | 53 106 390 247 | |
| Paradice Investment Management Pty Ltd | 64 090 148 619 | |
| Proa Partners Pte Ltd | N/A | |
| RWC Asset Management LLP | N/A | |
| Vaughan Nelson Investment Management, LP | N/A | |
| Wellington International Management Company Pte Ltd | 54 075 981 270 | |
| Yarra Capital Management Limited | 63 005 885 567 | |
|
Legal advisers |
Mills Oakley Lawyers |
51 493 069 734 |
|
Holding Redlich |
15 364 527 724 |
|
|
Tax advisers |
KPMG Australia |
51 194 660 183 |
You can find out about the Fund’s financial position, investment performance, people and activities for the most recently completed financial year in our annual report. The annual report is available online, but you may elect to have a hard copy of the annual report sent to you free of charge. If you elect to receive a hard copy we will continue to send you the report for every subsequent financial year until you notify us that a hard copy is no longer required.
Financial statements
The financial statements are prepared in accordance with relevant accounting standards and are approved by the Board of Host-Plus Pty. Limited.
Hostplus Superannuation Fund Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2018
Host-Plus Pty. Limited Special Purpose Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2018
Hostplus Pooled Superannuation Trust Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2018
The Financial Services Guide (FSG) is to ensure you are given adequate information about the financial services being offered by Hostplus.
It contains information about the services we offer, how we are paid, any potential conflict of interest we may have, and our internal and external dispute resolution procedures and how you can access them. If you need more information or clarification of any matters raised in this document, please contact us.
