Super fund seeks renewal of liquidity relief
At least one superannuation fund that sought relief from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) on liquidity grounds last year has sought renewal of that relief.
APRA deputy chairman Ross Jones revealed the unprecedented relief renewal application at the Investment and Financial Services Association conference this week.
He said the regulator was currently considering the issue in circumstances where some 22 superannuation fund trustees and 47 funds had made relief applications.
Jones said this was not a large number given the size of the Australian super industry.
However, he said a number of funds had material exposures to unlisted assets and this had implications for liquidity issues.
As well, Jones said there were concerns for the regulator where the default options offered by funds carried a high proportion of unlisted assets.
He said the valuation of unlisted assets carried with it the risk of member inequities and it was concerning that the risk profile of such investments were not being appropriately captured.
Jones said it was in these circumstances that the regulator was working on revisions to its unit pricing guide.
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