Roundtables
Super funds get practical on mental health by meeting members where they are
Super funds are in a prime position to promote more open conversations around mental health among members and employers, serving as a conduit between two worlds where the topic is both a personal wellbeing issue and a business challenge. One of the sector’s unique features is that it has broad exposure to the Australian economy,
Industry & regulation
APRA performance test data caught Shield, First Guardian growth
Analysis of data collected by APRA for the annual superannuation performance test showed the prudential regulator could see the rapid growth of the Shield and First Guardian master funds. But the prudential regulator defended inaction, saying it doesn’t have the capability to investigate any red flags.
Investments
Why switching to a reference portfolio metric for YFYS is risky
Treasury’s proposal for a new single-metric performance test may seem refreshing, and sound like progress to a jaded industry, but potential dangers for funds, their members and the system at large lurk underneath.
Featured Homepage Posts
Prime Super investment boss heads to First Super
The $5.7 billion First Super has appointed Prime Super head of investments Michael McQueen to its top investment job, ending an interim arrangement that has been in place since the resignation of CEO Bill Watson in early January.
21 July, 2026
Insurance in Super Summit
19 August, 2026
Retirement Leaders Summit
13 – 15 October, 2026
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
Leadership & profiles
New Brighter Super CIO says $37 billion fund still looking to grow
In his first public comments since taking the top investment job at the $37 billion Brighter Super, CIO Damien Webb says he will look to generate alpha through smart investing in small caps and the Sunshine State, but that the fund is still looking to grow.
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.
Retirement
Measuring what matters: Redefining retirement success in a maturing super system
As the retirement phase becomes the defining challenge of the superannuation system, the ability to measure what truly matters for members will increasingly shape how funds design, prioritise and deliver retirement outcomes. Funds must be able to measure, understand and improve retirement outcomes, not just investment performance.
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.
Governance
Third HESTA exec heads for the door in less than 12 months
The departure of the $100 billion HESTA’s chief operating officer Stephen Reilly follows those of chief executive Debby Blakey and chief risk officer Andrew Major, and is part of a shake-up among the broader senior ranks of Australian super funds.
Business strategy
Aware in growth mode after TelstraSuper merger, bucks outflow trend
The $237 billion megafund says that it’s ready for more mergers but that it won’t be a “buyer of complexity” in an already rapidly consolidating super system – even as it reverse the competitive outflow trend that has dogged profit-to-member super for years.
Investments
How asset owners are looking through private equity pain
The dispersion between private equity and listed market returns is near the widest in history. For some asset owners, that’s a reason to hold on through the pain – even as the SaaSpocalypse looms in the background.
Investments
Geopolitics, AI and how to stay ahead of the curve, through the eyes of CFA Institute
CFA Institute president and CEO Marg Franklin and institute chair Marshall Bailey shared their views on geopolitics, AI and private markets at last month’s CFA Society Australia Investment Leader Forum in Sydney. They also reflected on the association’s COVID-19 experience, which revealed major risks and shortfalls in its value and service proposition, leading to radical changes.
