In line with SSFS’ strategic aim of providing specialist financial advice to public sector members of superannuation funds, Mr Panaretos will be responsible for providing leadership across institutional sales and relationship management. Reporting directly to Michael Monaghan, Managing Director of SSFS, he will focus on developing relationships with corporate and institutional partners to provide financial advice services to their members, thereby allowing them to focus on their core business of managing members’ superannuation.

Speaking about the appointment, Mr Monaghan said that the new role was created to support the growth of the overall business and is in line with SSFS’ long-term strategic plan to broaden its offering to institutional and corporate clients.

“James brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to this new role and we are pleased to welcome him to the senior executive team. His ability to form relationships across the institutional market will be pivotal as we look to focus on fostering such relationships with key prospects.

“This appointment is a crucial next step in the evolution of our business. It signals our ongoing commitment to growth and to building on State Super Financial Services’ imperative of making public sector financial advice more accessible,” said Mr Monaghan.

With a career spanning over a decade in business development, Mr Panaretos brings extensive experience in the institutional market to the SSFS team. Prior to his appointment, he was the Principal and Business Development Manager for Mercer Investments where he was responsible for institutional sales and relationship management across its consulting advice and multi-manager solutions. He has also held senior positions in institutional sales and business development at BT Funds Management and Russell Investment Group.

Mr Panaretos, who is due to start with SSFS in April, said of his appointment: “I am looking forward to working closely with such a highly respected team and providing executive direction around SSFS’ focus on developing partnerships to drive growth in key markets. My experience to date has given me the skills and experience necessary to deliver on SSFS’ growth initiatives, and it’s very exciting to be working with a like-minded organisation where I can really add value to their strategic agenda.”

The post New hire marks greater institutional focus for State Super Financial Services appeared first on AdviserVoice.

SSFS was established to provide financial planning services to all public sector employees and is owned by the NSW Government’s SAS Trustee Corporation (STC), also known as State Super. SSFS has its own investment management team and has been operating since 1990.

Simone Bouch, Head of Business Australasia, Standard Life Investments said:  “This investment from SSFS reflects the increasing confidence we are seeing in GARS from the Australian market.

“We are pleased that a growing number of Australian investors are able to benefit from the strong returns and low volatility that GARS offers. The proportion of super fund members who will move from the pre-retirement to the post-retirement stage will increase three-fold over the next decade and it is increasingly important that super funds adopt strategies to cope with market swings, while positioning them for future growth.”

Damian Graham, Chief Investment Officer, State Super Financial Services confirmed the investment in GARS is part of a broader restructure of its investments, aimed at building and better preserving investors’ savings. He said:

“Our focus is on providing our members with income certainty in their retirement.  The average age of an SSFS client is 66, with almost all being in the pension phase. We are adopting alternative investments as part of a different approach to managing and limiting downside risk. The global crisis underlined that volatility can have a dramatically bad impact on retirement savings and achieving reasonable returns needs to come with less volatility.

“We are attracted to GARS because of its strong track record and ability to perform well in a variety of market conditions. The strategy invests in traditional asset classes and also uses several advanced derivative strategies to construct a highly diversified liquid portfolio which can help withstand market shocks – an important attribute particularly for retired investors,” Mr Graham said.

GARS has a proven consistent four-year track record of returns for Australian investors. The multi-asset strategy delivered an overall return of 11.7% per annum for Australian investors, gross of fees, over the four years from inception in 2009 to 31 December 2013 .

The risk expectation for GARS is a third to half that of the equity market, with a target return of cash plus 5 per cent per annum (gross of fees), over rolling 3-year periods. The volatility of the fund over the four-year period has been just 4.5% compared to global equity volatility of 10% (12.8% for Australian equities).

The post State Super Financial Services invests in Standard Life Investments’ GARS appeared first on AdviserVoice.

Sue McCarrey

Long standing public sector financial advice specialist, State Super Financial Services (SSFS), yesterday announced that it has opened its doors in Perth.

With the aim of serving public servants and the broader community in Western Australia, SSFS’s new office was opened by Sue McCarrey, President of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA).

Michael Monaghan, Managing Director of SSFS, said demand for specialist public sector advice was the driving force behind the decision to commit resources and extend SSFS’s proven capabilities into Western Australia.

“Our move into Western Australia is very much in line with our focus on making public sector advice more accessible to public sector super fund members and it is also a reflection of our continued growth nationally. SSFS has a strong track record of providing specialised financial advice and this new office will allow us to better serve our Western Australian-based clients, with expert local knowledge and local operations,” said Mr Monaghan.

Scott Phillips, State Manager of SSFS in Western Australia, will lead the office as well as the team of ten, all recruited from the local area.

Mr Phillips said that SSFS had identified a growing need in the market for specialist public sector-focused financial advice in Western Australia and that his team were looking forward to sharing their experience and expertise with members.

“Navigating the complexities of defined benefit schemes and maximising entitlements during events such as retirement or redundancy is challenging,” he said, “so having a public sector specialist in your corner can be very reassuring and can definitely make the process far less daunting.”

In addition to face-to-face advice, public sector super fund members will also have access to a highly innovative and recently launched telephone-based advice service designed to support the operations of the Perth office and service the broader public sector market in WA.

“Our telephone based advice service is specific to the individual’s defined benefit super account which helps them understand their choices and make better decisions,” Mr Phillips explained, “This is normally advice that had to be done face-to-face and in an environment where not all members have the time or ability to make a face-to-face meeting, we’ve innovated to provide elements one would expect from a high quality adviser but done with a skilled adviser by phone”.

Mr Monaghan concluded by explaining that the dual initiatives of the Perth office and the telephone-based advice service reflect the significance that SSFS places on providing easy-to-access, expert advice to current and prospective members.

“Our aim is that when public sector employees in WA need financial advice, they will think of SSFS and avail themselves of the expert and now locally based advice on offer. We look forward to hosting them at our offices” he said.

The new office is located at Level 3, 197 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000.

The post Public sector advice specialist brings its expertise to the western seaboard appeared first on AdviserVoice.

The appointment signifies SSFS’s desire to employ top quality talent to continue its 23 year history of solid growth in the professional financial planning advice sector. 
 
Michael Monaghan, SSFS’ Managing Director, said “We are delighted that Tim has accepted this key position in our team.  We aim to significantly grow our financial planner base so that more Australians can make better financial decisions through access to quality advice. Tim will add substantial commercial and strategic value to our financial infrastructure systems to support our growth plans.”
  
Mr Elliott joins SSFS with extensive experience from a number of blue chip financial services organisations across Australia, the UK and Asia.  

Commenting on his new role, Mr Elliot said “I’m looking forward to joining the team at SSFS and building on their robust financial systems and processes to achieve their growth targets. I was attracted to joining an organisation that has a strong history and a clear strategic direction for the future.”
 
Mr Elliott will commence next month.

The post State Super Financial Services recruits appeared first on AdviserVoice.