Analysis
Prime Super merger shows small fund problems aren’t going away
The $8 billion Prime Super’s move to pursue a successor fund transfer with Aware shows that the existential problems facing small funds aren’t going away. In fact, with administration and retirement dominating boardrooms and headlines, they might be getting worse.
Industry & regulation
Industry tensions over who will lead on cyber governance standards
The Financial Services Council has criticised the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour for applying to the country’s consumer watchdog for an exemption to negotiate with third-party vendors on behalf of all super funds. The government has deferred to the associations to work together on creating a standard, but the dispute raises questions over whether the industry can self-regulate.
Technology
Funds urged to not wait for AI regulation in insurance
Superannuation funds and insurers shouldn’t wait for regulators to catch up with the breakneck pace of AI adoption, but keeping humans in the loop on complex claims will be critical to making sure they never have to step in.
2026 Insurance in Super Summit
‘Cheapest, simplest, most inhumane’: Insurers warned against raising claims bar
The blowout in mental health claims landing on the books of life insurers is a downstream consequence of a public system that has been “not fit for purpose” for decades. But the industry shouldn’t respond by making it harder to claim, according to the architect of Australia’s youth mental health system.
19 August, 2026
Retirement Leaders Summit
13 – 15 October, 2026
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
3 – 4 February, 2027
Chair Forum
Investments
ART CIO says balance sheet management will reshape super investing
Ian Patrick, chief investment officer of the $370 billion Australian Retirement Trust, says that integrated balance sheet management will “beyond a shadow of a doubt” become a more prominent feature in the superannuation industry as funds grapple with the compounding effects of their growing size, systemic importance and the liquidity needs of servicing a larger cohort of retirees.
Leadership & profiles
GESB CEO calls time: ‘Past regime of default super’ no longer sustainable
GESB chief executive Ben Palmer is set to leave the Western Australian government super fund, ending a 13-year tenure after steering the fund through the most significant change in its history. In a rare interview, Palmer examines the past, present and future of super and explains why GESB is treating platforms, not profit-to-member funds, as its benchmark.
Profiles
Why HESTA’s ‘joined-up thinking’ is one of its CIO’s favourite things
Sonya Sawtell-Rickson joined HESTA as the health industry workers’ super fund was taking steps towards investment internalisation and a total portfolio approach. She says the moves have been vindicated not only by member returns but in the “joined-up” conversations the now-$96 billion fund has with the companies it invests in.
Member engagement
Lack of courage – not clarity – hinders retirement regulation
The Retirement Income Covenant’s radically principles-based approach has confounded the very leaders and lobbyists who warned against prescription. More than three years after its commencement, a demonstrable lack of progress is costing the first generation of Australians who should be enjoying the fruits of a world-class system. If poorly drafted prescriptive law follows, industry leaders will have only themselves to blame.
Governance
CGT, negative gearing reforms reflect Australian values
Labor has built a generational political brand, and one that endures in the face of some major challenges here and abroad, Conexus Financial founder and managing director Colin Tate told the 50th ALP National Conference in Adelaide. But it must push back against extreme demands on AI and technology if it is to boost productivity and seize a huge economic growth opportunity.
Industry & regulation
Super complaints expected to reach 8000 in 2026: AFCA
Superannuation complaints to AFCA are on track to exceed 8000 this year, a second consecutive year of around 30 per cent increases. Heather Gray, who is retiring in May after six years as lead ombudsman for superannuation, told the authority’s Member Forum that the answer to reducing complaints lies in empowering funds’ IDR teams and communicating with complainants and AFCA early. The forum heard that handling unreasonable people is a critical skill.
2026 Insurance in Super Summit
Govt to include insurance rules in mandatory super member standards
The government will have specific member service standards for insurance as a part of its broader reform package for superannuation funds, though the regulatory response to Shield and First Guardian will take priority with changes due to be announced next month.
Investments
Robeco CIO says AI winners and losers will be decided within a year
Asset managers that underestimate the importance of artificial intelligence to their businesses do so at their own peril, according to Anton Eser, global chief investment officer of Robeco, who thinks that many have less than a year to get across the “most important transformation” the industry has seen since the beginning of the index business more than 25 years ago.
Investments
Mercer Super expands into frontier market debt, builds out PE program
The $80 billion Mercer Super has delivered a fourth consecutive year of double-digit returns to most members of its SmartPath lifecycle product. Global equities did a lot of heavy lifting, but chief investment officer Graeme Miller tells Investment Magazine that the fund is now looking further afield for returns.
