The topic of whether or not Australian banks are well capitalised has been running hot. However the asset management sector has largely gone unnoticed when talking about financial system stability. In Australia, total assets held by asset managers (including superannuation funds, insurers and units trusts) are 75% of the assets held by banks.   In fact the burning question at the moment when talking about asset management seems to be whether or not you need $1m to have a comfortable retirement. In addition, industry professionals vent plenty of frustration when talking about the apathy the Australian population seems to have towards saving for retirement. However this apathy could be one of the factors that mitigate the systemic risk from the asset management sector, according to this informative article from the RBA. (more…)