Investments
Blue skies and lawsuits power MLC Super returns higher
Global equities have driven most of MLC’s FY26 return so far, but its exposures to insurance-linked securities and “esoteric” credit have also put in the hard yards and helped the fund diversify beyond the AI thematic, according to chief investment officer Dan Farmer.
Governance
HESTA seeks answers over ‘deeply concerning’ Richard White allegations
HESTA wants answers from WiseTech on how it will manage the role of executive chair Richard White after reports emerged that the Australian Federal Police are investigating him over human trafficking and visa fraud allegations.
Industry & regulation
Super funds must adhere to governance standards they demand of others
Director tenure limits are embedded in governance codes across every major capital market. As Australian superannuation funds become retirement institutions, they should be held to the same standards that they expect of the companies they invest in.
Featured Homepage Posts
Why governance beats TPA label when it comes to performance
The narrative around the total portfolio approach is rife with claims about how much performance it can add over the traditional strategic asset allocation model, but Paul Newfield, deputy director of consulting at Frontier Advisors, argued a good governance structure is a more reliable driver of returns than whichever portfolio construction method an asset owner adopts.
21 July, 2026
Insurance in Super Summit
19 August, 2026
Retirement Leaders Summit
13 – 15 October, 2026
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
Culture
‘Every opportunity has to earn its place’: How the Future Fund built a TPA culture that scales
The total portfolio approach has allowed Australia’s sovereign wealth fund to capture the themes that will power markets and economies for decades to come, said director of thought leadership Craig Thorburn – but that doesn’t mean it’s not hard to scale.
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
Pension Policy Podcast: Relieving members of the longevity risk burden
In Episode five of the Pension Policy Series, Allianz Retire+ chief executive David Kane joins Conexus Financial acting co-chief executive and editor-in-chief Aleks Vickovich to assess the commercial landscape for retirement income solutions across super and advice. Retirement remains only a small part of Australia’s $4.5 trillion superannuation pool. Kane says funds have been slow to implement the Retirement Income Covenant, and many responses to date have been cut-and-paste. Funds have built strong accumulation capability over more than three decades, but they lack the balance sheets to guarantee retirement income, raising the prospect that without the right solutions, members may be left carrying longevity risk themselves.
Governance
What a brief encounter with Elon Musk taught me about the limits of capitalism
A brief encounter with Elon Musk in 2013 showed that he would not flinch at rolling the dice, writes Conexus Financial founder and managing director Colin Tate AM. But SpaceX’s mega-IPO demonstrates that citizens, regulators, capital allocators and advisers need to decide whether they are comfortable with who is holding those dice.
Governance
ACSI says ASX must work hard to ‘rebuild trust’ following governance inquiry
The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, the proxy adviser serving a host of profit-to-member super funds, says it is “critical” the ASX address shortcomings identified in an ASIC review of its governance, capability and risk management frameworks.
Industry & regulation
Laggards drag down super’s death benefits progress: ASIC
ASIC has warned that a tail of underperforming superannuation trustees risks undermining industry-wide progress on claims handling more than a year after the regulator excoriated funds for dragging their feet on death benefits claims.
Investments
Super funds grapple with hidden AI cross-exposures as boom runs on
As super funds work to understand their total portfolio exposure to the artificial intelligence thematic, a complex picture of hidden betas and “attachment points” is gradually emerging. They also need to figure out how to play the same thematic in the “tricky” China market.
Infrastructure
‘A critical plank’: Aware grows data centre portfolio
The $210 billion Aware Super has tipped $460 million into Vantage Data Centres APAC as it looks to capture the “mega-trend” of digital infrastructure across geographies.
