The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, the proxy adviser serving a host of profit-to-member super funds and international pensions and charities, says it is “critical” the ASX address governance issues identified by an ASIC inquiry into its governance, capability and risk management frameworks and practices.

The panel, which was chaired by former Westpac institutional bank chief Rob Whitfield and included professional non-executive director Christine Holman and former RBA deputy governor Guy Debelle, found that the resilience of critical market infrastructure had been compromised to deliver higher shareholder returns and that the ASX’s existing governance arrangements had failed to provide the “necessary focus” on that infrastructure.

It also found that the ASX “lacks the aspiration to be a steward of critical market infrastructure” and that capability and cultural barriers are hindering “transformational change”.

“It is critical that the ASX continue to address issues identified to improve governance and rebuild trust,” ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson said in a release. “That includes the trust of regulators and market participants as well as long-term investors.

“ACSI will be engaging with the ASX to urge swift implementation of the actions outlined by the report. Australia’s superannuation members deserve strong governance at the top to support the long-term performance of their retirement savings.”

As long-term shareholders of more than a quarter of the stocks listed on it, Australia’s super funds have become more and more concerned about the governance of the ASX following a number of critical infrastructure outages, embarrassing errors involving announcements, and high-profile missteps like issuing a waiver to James Hardie that allowed it to proceed with its acquisition of NYSE-listed Azek without the approval of Australian shareholders.

“Good governance is foundational to well-functioning capital markets,” the ACSI statement said. “It strengthens trust, supports strategic decision-making and effective oversight, and attracts the long-term investment that Australian companies need to grow, innovate, and compete globally.”

The panel said that it was essential that the ASX reset its decision-making framework by placing stewardship responsibilities at the centre and taking a “longer-term view of the expenditure required to support resilient infrastructure and an operating model which is fit for the future”.

As a result of the review, the ASX has committed to the development of a revised technology strategy, the development of clear targets for fulfilling its stewardship role and a capital charge of $150 million in net tangible assets which the ASX will hold until its strategic reset is completed to ASIC’s satisfaction.

“This report confirms that ASIC’s decision to commission this unprecedented Inquiry was the right call,” ASIC chair Joe Longo said in a statement.

“The further evidence and key observations in this final report support the scale of transformational change required at ASX to deliver on its stewardship of critical market infrastructure.

“I thank the inquiry panel for its work, which provided a circuit breaker for ASX and a clear path forward to rebuilding trust and confidence in this operator of critical markets infrastructure.”