Melbourne Money and Finance Conference 2011

Retail and Household Finance: Current Issues

Now in it’s 16th year the Melbourne Money and Finance Conference (MMFC) is an invitation only event limited to around 60 attendees, equally split between academia, business and the public sector.

This year, MMFC highlights current Retail and Household Finance issues in Australia (and New Zealand). The current relevance of Retail Finance is reflected in the number of recent inquiries and the range of regulatory proposals relevant to this theme. The 12 papers to be presented in this conference have been selected to represent a breadth of issues in the industry.

Event Sponsors:

About the Conference:
The Melbourne Money and Finance Conference (MMFC) has been conducted for most of the past 20 years since the late 1980s. This unique conference series brings together invited academics, industry participants and regulators under the Chatham House rule to discuss specially prepared and selected papers on emerging matters of significance in the finance sector. The Australian Centre for Financial Studies (ACFS), previously known as Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies, has been hosting the conference since the Centre was established in 2005.

The theme of the conference is selected annually and is aligned with the current issues affecting the financial services industry. The Conference is by invitation only, and limited to between 60 – 70 individuals (one third from academia, one third from industry, one third from regulatory bodies). The success of this conference series can be attributed to the calibre of delegates attending and the quality of discussion among the delegates under the Chatham House rule.

Through the open exchange of views and opinions from delegates of various backgrounds, many of whom are Australia’s foremost experts in finance, MMFC has been successful in anticipating key developments in the Australian and global financial services sector, affecting public policy and academic research in the industry.

Papers presented at past conferences have been published in books and academic journals individually or together as a special conference edition. Annually, JASSA, Finsia’s quarterly Journal of Applied Finance publishes an issue devoted to papers from MMFC. Papers are also available online on the ACFS website, as well as the former MCFS website.

PROGRAM – Thursday 7th July, 2011

TIME	SESSION
7.30 – 9.00am	BREAKFAST/MORNING COFFEE
9 – 10.30am	Consumer Payment Behaviour and Views on Making Payments in Australia John Bagnall and Kylie Smith (RBA) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Kathy Avram, Monash University Notes How bank switching in NZ differs by product: Lessons for Australia Claire Matthews (Massey University) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Bruce Le Bransky, KPMG Notes
10.30 – 11am	MORNING TEA
11 – 12.30pm	Post GFC regulation – product innovation, ensuring customer suitability and problem resolution Nick Hossack (ABA) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: John Wilson, Leadenhall Corporate Finance Consumer Financial Protection: Future Directions Richard Sandlant (Australian Treasury) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Benedict Davies, Unisuper Management
12.30 – 2pm	LUNCH
2 – 3.30pm	ASX Warrants: Are Retail Investors getting a fair go? Ben Hunt and Chris Terry (UTS) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: David Robinson, Ernst & Young Retail Derivatives – what we know, what we don’t know and some regulatory challenges Alex Erskine (ASIC) Paper\| Presentation Discussant: Christine Brown, Monash University
3.30 – 4pm	AFTERNOON TEA
4 – 5.30pm	SMSFs: Can we do better? Tom Valentine (Macquarie GSM) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: John Nguyen, Ernst & Young Retail Investors and Ethical Investment Howard Pender and Marie Brochetto (Australian Ethical Investment) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Rosalie Degabriele, University of Technology, Sydney Notes
5.30 – 7.30pm	PRE-DINNER DRINKS (including pre-dinner address)
7.30 til late	CONFERENCE DINNER

PROGRAM – Friday 8th July, 2011

TIME	SESSION
7.30 – 9.00am	BREAKFAST/MORNING COFFEE
9 – 10.30am	Life-Cycle-Event Financial Products Kevin Davis and Deborah Ralston (ACFS) and Ross Higgins (Austock Group) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Keith Sloan, Southern Cross Business School Notes Tax Distortions and Retail Investors Gordon MacKenzie (UNSW) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Graeme Wells, University of Tasmania Notes
10.30 – 11am	MORNING TEA
11 – 12.30pm	Explaining retirement investment choices: the interrelated roles of information disclosure and financial literacy Hazel Bateman (UNSW) and Susan Thorp (UTS) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: James Coyle, AustralianSuper Notes Post-Retirement Products Louise du Pre-Alba (ASFA) Paper \| Presentation Discussant: Bruce Arnold, APRA Notes
12.30pm	CONFERENCE CLOSE