ISN & FSC JOIN FORCES: AUSTRALIA BENEFITS

Pictured is David Whitely, CEO of ISN addressing the FSC delegates in an historic first

The main news, to my mind, from the morning sessions of Day 2 of the Financial Services Council's 2013 conference (#FSC13) happened off stage.

And that news was the joint announcement by the Industry Super Network (@IndustrySuper) and the Financial Services Council (@FinServCouncil) that they will work, collaboratively, on a better future for superannuation in Australia.

Now I could permit cynicism to kick in at this news, but the fact remains: this is a "maturity milestone" for Australia's retirement savings system.

Warring parties, fundamentally trying to achieve the same thing, albeit with different philosophical bents, have come together in the name of a greater good: a decent retirement, characterised by the greater choices and standard of living you can only get from having enough money.

I particularly liked these two quotes, from David Whitely and John Brogden respectively:

"Industry Super Network and the Financial Services Counsil should lead the elevation of superannuation out of the political discourse and ensure policy making is considered, sector neutral and even handed."

"Because we have allowed ourselves to be divided, the significance of the industry and our prominence in the minds of government and consumers has been diminished. Ultimately, it is superannuation that suffer."

The full release is available on both the FSC and ISN websites.

Perhaps it's time for both sides to read it, and bury the hatchet - for the sake of a better future.

I'm attending the FSC Conference with Aideen McDonald (@BlueChip_Comm) and Bruce Madden (@madd_23n) on behalf of BlueChip. You can follow my commentary at @carden and www.cardencalder.com.