No.

ANZAC House’s role is limited to maintaining the RSL’s strategic contractual relationship with Morgan Stanley and ensuring delivery of investment management services meet the agreed commercial arrangements.

None of the invested funds come to ANZAC House, and participating sub-Branches work directly with a Morgan Stanley adviser. 

Each sub-Branch retains full control of its investments and receives the full return on the amount it invests. 

All sub-Branches, irrespective of whether they already have investment managers, are invited to arrange a meeting with Morgan Stanley to discuss their specific investment circumstances (see the Contact Morgan Stanley information further down the page).

No. 

We’re asking sub-Branches to make voluntary contributions to the Veteran Support Fund (VSF), which will help to deliver the initiatives of the Strategic Plan and agreed, state-wide programs and initiatives, such as our recent $3.1 million donation to RSL LifeCare Veteran Services. 

The RSL NSW CEO will present a proposed target budget for the VSF each year, with a four-year forecast. The budget reflects the priority initiatives to deliver our core purpose of supporting members and the wider veteran community, as well as their families, complementing what is delivered locally by sub-Branches.  

As the need for new state-wide initiatives arises, these will be proposed to the District President’s Council by members through their sub-Branches to be funded by the VSF.

All expenditure will be aligned to RSL NSW’s core purpose: supporting members, the veteran community and their families throughout the state. The executive and Board’s role is accountability and transparency.

The VSF will promote the RSL’s mission and strategic intent to grow membership, and strengthen the RSL’s ability to support members, the wider veteran community and their families across the state.   

Yes.

We understand there are long-term relationships between executives, trustees and their investment managers.

Individual sub-Branches can continue to make their own investment decisions, and participation in the investment management scheme is entirely voluntary.

Following a very competitive procurement process, sub-Branches can now choose to invest their assets with an investment management service provided by Morgan Stanley, a global firm with proven results in managing not-for-profit portfolios and aligning returns to investment strategies.

This offer is available to sub-Branches with an opening account size of $100,000.

We’ve created this opportunity for sub-Branches to participate in a fair, equitable  investment scheme taking advantage of the benefits of scale, the breadth and expertise of investment knowledge, and management fees which will reduce further for all sub-Branches as the collective amount managed increases. 

Regardless of where a sub-Branches funds are managed, each sub-Branch can still contribute to the VSF and oversee the delivery of the agreed services.

1. Take advantage of the benefits of scale: reduced fees, global reach and risk diversification.
2. Reduce investment decisions required by executives and their trustees
3. Free up RSL NSW members to concentrate on what they volunteered for – helping veterans and their families.

Participation is voluntary. This is an opportunity – we respectfully encourage trustees and senior executive members to compare current investment strategies and performance with what Morgan Stanley can offer. If nothing else, this may encourage your current investment manager to do better – a positive result for the sub-Branch.

The opportunity is to invest individually, with each sub-Branch choosing its portfolio, while collectively taking advantage of the benefits of scale, such as reduced fees, global reach and risk diversification.

We know many sub-Branches’ volunteer executives have long made day-to-day decisions about large cash investments and strategic asset allocations, with approval of trustees. This exposes both the executives and their trustees – no matter how competent or experienced – to greater risks.

These volunteers spend significant time on this important function. Participation in the investment services provided by Morgan Stanley is designed to streamline investment management decisions. Volunteers can instead set the investment policy statement and monitor performance via regular reporting.

As well as mitigating risk, this also allows RSL NSW members to concentrate on what they volunteered for – helping other members and the wider veteran community, as well as their families – secure in the knowledge their investments are professionally and effectively managed, and regularly reported on.

Use the form below to request a download of the Morgan Stanley Fact Sheet, or see the Contact Morgan Stanley information below for a confidential and obligation-free discussion of your sub-Branch’s investment needs.

The Board has not delegated any authority to Morgan Stanley. The Constitution is very specific about the circumstances under which delegation may take place. Morgan Stanley was chosen to provide financial services to RSL NSW and its sub-Branches after a competitive selection process seeking to provide a more appropriate risk-adjusted return and lower fees for the League as a whole. There is no compulsion for sub-Branches to appoint Morgan Stanley and even when they do establish an investment portfolio with Morgan Stanley, full control of the financial assets still rests with the sub-Branch. RSL Custodian, as a corporate Trustee, is only joined with the sub-Branch Trustees so that sub-Branches are able to take advantage of being considered wholesale customers, rather than retail customers.

In relation to the Competition and Consumer Act, RSL sub-Branches are not compelled or directed to be involved in the Morgan Stanley offer. Each sub-Branch must make its own determination about whether the offer is appropriate for them.

The RSL NSW Board has made no amendment to the RSL NSW Constitution other than by way of a Special Resolution of sub-Branch Delegates present and entitled to vote at an RSL NSW Annual General Meeting. The current clause 7.1 states:

7.1 This Constitution, and any provision in this Constitution may only be amended, repealed, or replaced by a Special Resolution of Delegates present and entitled to vote at a general meeting.

The previous version of the RSL NSW Constitution (approved 1 December 2019) states:

7.1 This Constitution, and any provision in this Constitution may only be amended, repealed, or replaced by a Special Resolution of Delegates present and entitled to vote at a general meeting.

There has been no amendment to this clause since 2019.

The instrument that creates the sub-Branch Trust is the Trust Deed signed by the appointed sub-Branch Trustees and sub-Branch President in the capacity of appointer. Clause 6 (a) of the Trust Deed states:

The Trustees jointly and severally agree and declare that:

(a) they may, subject to the Constitution, with the consent of the sub-Branch and during their continuance in office, sell, mortgage, lease or otherwise deal with Trust Property by a resolution approved by a majority of the members of the sub-Branch at a duly convened meeting thereof.

As such and in accordance with the NSW Trustees Act, sub-Branch Trustees have signed to agree that they will abide by the provisions of the RSL NSW Constitution, including the provisions of clause 15.56, when investing or otherwise managing the assets of the Trust.

There has been no amendment to the RSL NSW Constitution regarding clause 16.1. All sub-Branches are currently required to have either of the 3 Trustee options stated in clause 16.1 in order to be compliant with the Constitution. Clause 16.4 gives the sub-Branch the further option of appointing RSL Custodian as a Trustee, i.e., joining the sub-Branch Trustees, or as sole Trustee of the sub-Branch property. This clause is commonly triggered when RSL Custodian is joined as co-Trustee on Sale Proceeds Deeds. A Sale Proceeds Deed is a condition placed on the approval to sell sub-Branch real property and is a long- standing practice. It is designed to replace the caveat that exists on the sale of sub-Branch real property exercised by RSL NSW.

As mentioned above, the requirement for RSL Custodian to join the sub-Branch Trustees for the purposes of accessing the Morgan Stanley offer is to ensure they can take advantage of being treated as a wholesale client. The sub-Branch is not obliged or directed to choose the Morgan Stanley offer. There has been no amendment to the Constitution by the CEO or anyone else regarding the Morgan Stanley offer. All sub- Branches are free to make their own choice regarding the financial management of their sub-Branch’s assets within the parameters of the RSL NSW Constitution.