Jocelyn Furlan

Total Risk Management Pty Limited (TRM), trustee of the Russell Investments Master Trust, announced today the appointments of Jocelyn Furlan and Ben Walsh to serve as independent directors, effective 1 July.

Ms Furlan is a superannuation industry consultant specialising in consumer affairs. She is currently a director of Financial Counselling Australia, Perpetual Superannuation and the Mother’s Day Classic Foundation. She has also held a directorship at Aware Super and was previously Executive Chair and CEO of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.

Mr Walsh was previously the Chief Life and Health Insurance Officer and Chief Investment Officer at AIA Australia, and before that was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Mercer Australia and New Zealand. He is currently an independent director of Gen Re Australia and Gen Re Life Australia along with holding various board positions across the education and non-profit sectors. He has also held directorships at the Financial Services Council and Pillar Administration.

“These two appointments reaffirm Russell Investments Master Trust super members continue to benefit from the expertise of directors with an enormous amount of experience across superannuation, investments and member services,” said TRM Chair Patricia Montague.

“Jocelyn deeply understands the inner workings of super funds and the fiduciary duty to members. Ben brings investment, distribution and product expertise that will further support the continued development of personalised superannuation solutions for Australians.​

“As trustee, we aim to improve members’ financial security by helping ensure their superannuation savings give them the very best chance at a great life after work.”

Through the Russell Investments Master Trust, TRM oversees iQ Super – for Life and iQ Retirement products, as well as Nationwide Super, Resource Super and Salaam Superannuation. The Russell Investments Master Trust currently has approximately AUD$11.2 billion in assets and around 85,000 members.

The two new appointees join board members Patricia Montague (chairperson), Alexis Dodwell, Keith Knapman and Peter Gunning.

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Olivia Sarah-Le Lacheur

The Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) is pleased to announce that AIA Australia and OnePath Life^[1] have partnered with the AFA Foundation to support our charitable work that is changing lives across the nation.

AFA Foundation Chair, Olivia Sarah-Le Lacheur, said the partnerships will help the AFA Foundation provide additional valuable support to charities that assist people in need across the country.

“We thank AIA Australia and OnePath Life for partnering with us to help improve the lives of Australians who are doing it tough,” she said. “Their contributions to the AFA Foundation will allow us to broaden and strengthen our charitable giving efforts.”

Ben Walsh, Chief Insurance & Investments Officer at AIA Australia, said, “We are a partnering organisation that champions shared value and making a difference in people’s lives. By teaming up with the AFA Foundation, we are choosing to support a Foundation that significantly enriches the lives and livelihoods of others – which in turn will create meaningful impact and serve our community for the better.”

Nathan Taggart, Head of Sales at Zurich and OnePath Life, said, “In the face of the current challenges posed by COVID-19, we are incredibly proud to support the AFA Foundation’s efforts to support these important charities and in turn make a difference to everyday Australians and their families.  We have a responsibility to positively impact the lives of our customers, partners and the broader community. This initiative, and our long-standing partnership with the AFA, is another way we hope we can make a difference.”

Through the financial contributions and hard work of members of the AFA community and the AFA Foundation committee, over $2 million has been provided to charity partners across Australia since the AFA Foundation was established in 2007.

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[1] OnePath Life is part of the Zurich Group

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Crisis Extension has been designed to complement AIA Australia’s Priority Protection Crisis Recovery insurance. Whereas Crisis Recovery pays a lump sum when someone is diagnosed with a specified crisis event (such as cancer, heart attack or stroke), Crisis Extension will provide long-term cover for more serious events that generally require additional care and financial support.

Crisis Extension must be taken out with Crisis Recovery but is treated independently; customers can tailor the sums insured for each type of cover.

AIA Australia’s Chief Life Insurance Officer Ben Walsh explained: “Crisis Recovery is extremely valuable for easing the financial burden of an unexpected health issue, and providing peace of mind during recovery. However, where an issue is detected early, this payment may not be sufficient if someone’s condition later progresses or worsens.

“This is where Crisis Extension can assist, to provide long-term additional cover when it is most needed, at a lower premium. This ensures people have flexible and tailored cover for major health events that may occur during their lifetime.

“We hope that this flexibility will allow financial advisers and their clients to vary the mix between Crisis Recovery and Crisis Extension to ensure the protection and cost suits each person’s specific needs. It’s all part of AIA’s purpose of making a difference in people’s lives,” Mr Walsh said.

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In the new role, Mr Walsh, who is currently Mercer’s Managing Director and CEO of Australia and New Zealand, will drive the direction of the life insurance arm of the business, which includes CommInsure Life.

As Chief Life Insurance Officer, Mr Walsh will be responsible for delivering market-leading life insurance propositions across a diverse range of channels, in order to best meet consumer need.

Mr Walsh will join the Executive Team and report to Chief Executive and Managing Director of AIA Australia and New Zealand, Damien Mu.

Commenting on the new appointment, Damien Mu said: “We’re thrilled to have secured such a high-calibre leader in Ben, who joins the AIA family with decades of experience and a shared passion for purpose and Making a Difference in peoples’ lives.

“We have a unique customer value proposition of Life, Health and Wellbeing and each of those pillars is fundamental to our shared value model. In heading up the Life pillar of the business, Ben will pay a key role in helping us realise our vision of making Australia and New Zealand the healthiest and best protected nations in the world.

“As the business continues to grow, Ben’s leadership and expertise will allow us to deliver greater value in life insurance, further strengthening our leadership by identifying and investing in innovative ways to meet evolving customer needs and expectations.”

Mr Walsh said: “I have admired AIA and its people since prior to its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and over the years have been fortunate enough to visit its operations and leadership in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Australia. As the largest global life insurer in the world, AIA is extremely well placed to deliver its vision and in this new role, I look forward to helping the business and team, along with clients and partners, make Australia one of the healthiest and best protected nations in the world.”

Mr Walsh is an experienced industry executive, having worked for Mercer and its sister company Marsh for more than 25 years, most recently as Managing Director and CEO of Australia and New Zealand where he was responsible for delivering the firm’s business segments of Health, Wealth and Career.

He was also Chief Country Officer of Mercer’s parent, the global professional services firm Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) and Director of five Mercer Boards across Australia and New Zealand, including the Trustee of the AU$25 billion in funds under management Mercer Master Trust.

Mr Walsh was appointed to the Faculty of Business & Economics Advisory Board with The University of Melbourne in October 2015 and the Board of the Financial Services Council in 2018.

He holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Honors from the University of Melbourne, and a Master of Business Administration from the Melbourne Business School.

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Brett Clark

TAL, Australia’s leading life insurance specialist, yesterday announced that TAL Superannuation Limited (TASL) has appointed Mercer Australia as their implemented consultant for the TAL Superannuation and Insurance Fund (the Fund).

The six-year appointment is the result of a tender process TASL completed earlier this year.

TASL Director and TAL Group CEO & Managing Director, Brett Clark, said TASL’s independent appointment of Mercer will support the Fund to continue delivering sustainable returns for its members.

“The tender process confirmed Mercer’s deep expertise in the superannuation sector as well as the high calibre of their people and processes.

“Helping our members secure their financial future is our key priority. While a number of quality candidates were considered in the tender process, TASL judged Mercer to best meet TASL’s requirements. Mercer has a consistent track record that TASL believes will meet the current and future expectations of our members,” said Mr Clark.

Ben Walsh, Managing Director and CEO of Mercer Australia, said this appointment brings together two companies who both share a deep passion for service excellence and the delivery of real value to the customer.

“This appointment will deliver significant value to TASL and its members by having them access Mercer’s investment scale and capability.”

The appointment of Mercer will commence from 1 October 2017.

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