Bill Watson, the long-serving CEO of the $4 billion First Super, is taking up the CIO role at Queensland-based industry fund BUSSQ, and says that the outlook for smaller super funds has never been more positive.
Behavioural economics has taught us that individuals can be poor at making optimal decisions. Shlomo Benartzi, a global leader in the behavioural economics field, says there’s a clear role for super funds in supporting and nudging members to make choices that serve their own best interests better. The question is how to do it cost-effectively, and at scale.
Australia’s superannuation system might be the envy of other nations, but when it comes to the retirement phase it can work much better than it does. There is a fundamental need to develop a stronger income-focused framework so that the Australian community, as well as the government and the super industry, appreciate that the primary purpose of superannuation is to provide regular and sustainable retirement income.
The low take-up of annuities has been a feature of the market for decades, and while various theories have been put forward to explain this, there has never been a definitive answer. A study by the School of Risk & Actuarial Studies at the UNSW Business School sheds new light on the issue and uncovers some issues that should help superannuation funds as they strive to meet their retirement income objectives.
MLC Super will lean more heavily on its derivatives capability to manage the risks of its active managers running underweights to the big tech stocks and will also move into more core plus assets in its infrastructure portfolio to build a bigger buffer against the performance test.
In 2025, the institutional investment sector was rocked by admin growing pains in super and the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian investment schemes. But the year also saw funds take the world stage and finally begin the shift to a decumulation mindset.
Netwealth’s belated decision to make First Guardian consumers whole offers an opportunity for the superannuation sector to avoid descending into a partisan conflict between profit-to-member funds and private sector retail funds and platforms. While impassioned responses to this disaster are understandable, disunity will only weaken confidence in our unique retirement savings system and delay or destroy the project to expand access to advice.
Netwealth has given certainty to First Guardian investors on its platform before Christmas, with 1000 investors to be remediated $100 million by the end of January. Netwealth will use cash and debt to fund the compensation, which it expects will impact profit by $71 million in 1H26.
Criticism of super funds for moving too slowly on the Retirement Income Covenant (RIC) is a recurring theme at industry events and in regulator commentary. But super funds argue that perceptions of slow progress mask the value and pace of change taking place behind the scenes as systems are upgraded, data is cleaned and readied and solutions are prepared for launch.
Australia has developed a $4.1 trillion superannuation system, but the fact that it does not provide even basic information for consumers to compare retirement options is a source of embarrassment. Consumer-focused transparency is vital and should be prioritised so that future generations of retirees have access to free, reliable and easy to use information.
Dollars and cents are only one aspect of retirement, which for most fund members is simply the start of a new phase of life, not the end of it. Super funds need to extend their expertise beyond supporting members in accumulation to help them enjoy secure and meaningful retirements.
CalPERS CIO Stephen Gilmore says he can add 50 to 60 basis points to returns by using a total portfolio approach, and believes that it can also simplify accountability and open up new opportunities for investments at the US’ largest pension fund.
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