Madeleine Senior helps banks prosper

Transcription

1 ISSUE 412 MAY 2016 Madeleine Senior helps banks prosper THE FLOW OF SUPERSTREAM PROFITING FROM SCIENCE

2 cover story the seed Madeleine Senior has carried a teacher s mentality throughout her career. Her passion for learning and helping others has sent her around the world, where she has seen her initiatives and advice flourish. 14 Superfunds May 2016

3 Madeleine Senior, head of Australia and New Zealand for Northern Trust, the custodial services and asset management provider, in name and in nature, is a leader a sharer of wisdom, knowledge and expertise. Travelling to South Africa in 2013, Senior was instrumental in educating and instilling training programs for the region s new central banks, developing asset management operations by building in-house capacity and employing financial service providers. It was a career highlight for me, said Senior. Some of the work I did in Africa was in conjunction with the World Bank and the Central Banking Magazine. I ve always thought that when a country needs your input and advice, and they are looking at starting a central bank this is the first step in seeding funds that are going to protect their future generations. It s quite inspiring and humbling experience to be asked to come and talk to them about my own opinions. The conference, which gave Senior the opportunity to educate and impart her expertise, was held at a critical time for the region, scheduled during the height of the Ebola outbreak across the continent, along with an uncertain negative interest rate environment for the euro and talks of the renminbi s introduction as a reserve currency. I was very fortunate to be asked to go down to the National Asset Liability Management forum in Johannesburg, and it was interesting because many of the speakers cancelled. And I called and asked, are you going to cancel the conference? and they said not if you re going to come. The central banks that attend that conference were from all stages of evolution. From embryonic, not even launched or started, to the most sophisticated that you can meet in the South African Reserve Bank. The role there was to help share experiences with other central banks. A mixture of up and coming and well established companies and institutions makes up Northern Trust s client base, with 80 per cent of the top 10 sovereign wealth funds as clients. Northern Trust is now facing a highly competitive time within Australia s market alone with superannuation funds vying for a slice of the pie, estimated to reach AU$8 trillion by In the latest Rainmaker Roundup report on funds under management (FUM) market projections, Australian-sourced FUM, which currently sits at around $2.4 trillion, is projected to increase 8 per cent per annum over the next 20 years. This is driven primarily by compulsory superannuation savings, which accounts for 78 per cent of the projected $8 trillion honeypot. As the fourth largest pension fund market in the world, Australia will see a guaranteed growth in the superannuation funds sector. While Senior concedes that it is a hugely competitive area, where most of the global providers are based, she also states that Northern Trust is one of the fastest growing asset servicing providers in the market, with a 20 per cent annual growth two years in a row. The asset management sector of the business also grew by a staggering 50 per cent last year. EUROPE VERSUS AUSTRALIA But it is not just the Australian market that is ripe for investment, Senior says the similarities between Australia and other European countries are drawing in many Australian funds. Offering a unique view on both the European and Asia-Pacific market, Senior, who established the Nordic wing of Northern Trust, says that the similarities between the regions far outweigh the differences. When you look at what s different here and similar with the rest of the world, you notice the fluidity of the regulatory landscape that everyone is trying to navigate and it s important to keep up with the pace of change, so I need to understand what s happening locally and what s going on with the rest of the world, says Senior. Regulation and consolidation concerns are mirrored throughout Europe, where Senior says clients are consolidating as regulators continue to question efficiency and cost effectiveness of funds for members. Globalisation, Senior also says, is drawing concerns from clients they want to go out into the world and invest outside of Australia, she says. With that comes foreign exchange, volatility, currency risk and a need for expertise. We ve had to be proactive and in front of our clients to bring them this expertise and bring them that market knowledge. If you couple that with diversification in alternative, derivative collateral management, for our clients, the world is at a really complex and evolving stage. 16 Superfunds May 2016

4 So, what are the questions that financial managers are continuing to hear from their clients and what questions should funds ask? According to Senior, there are just three: How do I future proof my business, and how do I keep and insulate the business I have got? I think superannuation funds and investment managers alike are grappling with a strategy that is ever more global, diversified and regulated. How do I keep up with technology demands in order to get my data more efficiently and tailored to my needs? Most governments, says Senior, want reporting in the same way APRA wants reporting. The reporting in Australia, in my experience, is almost identical to Dutch reporting. We reinvest US$3 billion every three years into improving and keeping our technology current and up to date. What makes the most sense for me and my members or my underlying investors? As Senior states, contrary to popular belief, one size does not fit all. TALKING THE TALK The ability to communicate effectively is a well-honed skill for Senior, beginning her career as a teacher before trying her hand at a range of jobs, landing in the financial industry. I have a diverse background, not just in teaching, and I feel like that gives me a broader offering, says Senior. Senior s career has been as diverse as the countries she has lived in; a procurement officer in Cowley United Kingdom, a receptionist for Colgate Palmolive in Sydney before finally joining Northern Trust in 1994 adding even more stamps to an already full passport. I ve lived and worked in Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States, Middle East, Africa, I helped open our Nordic office, which covered Stockholm in 2009, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland during the global financial crisis. What I have learnt during that time, having a broad global perspective enables you to simplify and distil the current issues that are going on in the world. I can bring back the thought leadership or help to contribute by bringing back feedback from those clients here and around the world. The theme throughout her life has always been a constant I think it s fair to say that I ve either been teaching or learning for the whole of my career, she says. Teaching is about developing people, inspiring individuals and collective groups, de-mystifying jargon and above all, communicating sometimes difficult concepts into clear and understandable ideas. Having experienced diversity and culture and talent across an organisation enables me to see the benefits of having diversity among your leadership team. The world is very different from pre the CEO doesn t always have all the answers, and your role is to build a team around you that has that expertise. I always say to my leadership team what am I not asking? Northern Trust boasts a staggering 14,000 employees across the world, with a Melbourne office established in Australia, and a recently acquired Sydney office, through amalgamation. The management of internal councils with such a large workforce is no mean feat, yet Senior was as integral to that task as she has been with the establishment of the Nordic office itself. As the chairwoman for the Advancing Professionals Resource Council, which covered all other internal councils at Northern Trust, I was able to encourage colleagues from all over the business, some based in Limerick, some in Guernsey, all over the UK, to work together to solve an organisational issue and present back to management. After watching employees grow and really go beyond their own job I found that it s not just about doing a good Superfunds May

5 cover story job, because that s what you re paid for. It s about building a network, it s about what you do outside of the day to day and about having a mentor. I have mentors, it s important to have that input in your personal and professional concerns, and that has now gone from strength to strength and we have someone volunteer to start it here in Australia. REAPING WHAT SHE SOWS Giving back to the communities she lives and works in has been critical for Senior, since moving back to Australia she has worked on facilitating connections for small islands in the Pacific with more developed central banks across the world. She also marks, among her career highlights, her time in Sweden and her work with the women s refuge in Stockholm. This refuge wasn t funded to open over the weekend, and we joined forces with the refuge to raise funds so it could stay open and we managed to raise enough money to keep it open. When I think about achievements I don t think about winning the best piece of business, it s about how we as a bank give back to the communities we serve and help new clients leverage the experience and expertise we have by connecting them directly to other clients. The rapidly changing pace of the industry, its fluidity and the dynamic environment is what first lured Senior to financial management, but it was the ability to impact people s lives, in a positive sense, that has kept her here. Her work with Women in Super, Women in Leadership, CEO female connections, Australian Custodial Services Association and the Ardoch Youth Foundation have been key to a long, happy and illuminating career, which Senior says is all she had hoped for. The best advice I received was to look forward to the things you can change, as opposed to regretting the things you could not, and I guess I ve lived by that. 18 Superfunds May 2016