Mark Sainsbury, the first CIO of First State Super, has passed away following a short illness. Friends of Sainsbury remember him as a man of “formidable intellect, sharp investment insight and unmistakeable presence”.
Minister for Financial Services Daniel Mulino said legislating DBFO remains “a high priority” for the Albanese government despite refusing to commit to a 2026 deadline earlier this month. Mulino told the Advice Policy Summit, hosted by Investment Magazine sister publication Professional Planner, that the fallout of Shield and First Guardian means DBFO needs to be considered alongside stronger consumer protection.
Pensions industry leaders including Australian Retirement Trust chair Helen Rowell, UniSuper chair Mark Armour and Colonial First State audit and risk committee chair Jo-Anne Bloch have urged the Albanese government to prioritise its Delivering Better Financial Outcomes reforms ahead of the Advice Policy Summit, hosted by Investment Magazine sister publication Professional Planner in Canberra this week. But while they say legislation expanding access to advice is “essential”, further delays cannot be allowed to deter an enhancement of services to members.
Progressing advice reform via the Delivering Better Financial Outcomes is critical to improving retirement standards and will help reduce the risk of a repeat of the Shield and First Guardian collapse, writes The Conexus Institute’s David Bell and Geoff Warren.
In an interview with Investment Magazine, Aware Super CIO Simon Warner says the new investment team structure will help it to tackle “difficult investment challenges”, strengthen whole-of-fund decision making and make sure its portfolio is generating the best possible returns for members.
Margaret Cole’s announced departure as deputy chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has triggered a covert campaign by industry super funds to influence the appointment of the powerful watchdog. AustralianSuper and the Super Members Council deny they lobbied the Albanese government on the APRA vacancy, despite allegations levelled by senior public and private sector sources.
New analysis of the retirement landscape contained in The Conexus Institute’s 2026 State of Super Report makes it clear that if profit-to-member funds do not lift their game quickly they face losing high-value members to retirement options preferred by financial advisers.
The Retirement Income Covenant has been in place for more than three years, but last week the chair of the country’s largest superannuation fund was reported as saying there is still only “a growing recognition” that funds need to do more to support members in retirement. It is a scenario familiar to anyone who’s closely watched any industry attempting fundamental change, but that is cold comfort to members.
AustralianSuper is planning on boosting both its allocation to private equity and the number of external managers it uses in the “highly attractive asset class” amidst a broader shift in how super funds are investing across the private markets.
UniSuper’s digital advice offering has seen the service replicate the output of 18 human advisers since launching it last year. But the $166 billion fund, which expanded its external advice offering last year, says its digital advice proposition is complementary, not competing with human-led advice.
The $210 billion super fund, which has historically pursued direct investments in chunky infrastructure assets, is considering a return to pooled vehicles to broaden its opportunity set and boost its returns. The change was kickstarted by new CIO Simon Warner before he took on the role.
Newly elected Liberal leader Angus Taylor faces an uphill battle to keep the Coalition from splitting apart again and to reinvent the party as a viable force in politics. Superannuation might not immediately top the policy to-do list, but when it does get there it will need to bring fresh ideas to serve the best interests of fund members.
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Investment Magazine provides in-depth, monthly analysis of trends and developments for all the businesses in which superannuation funds engage‚ including asset allocation, investment manager selection, custody and fund accounting, member administration, group insurance and compliance.
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of this land upon which Conexus Financial sits, the Cadigal of the Eora Nation. We recognise their continuing connection and unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and community. We pay our deepest respects to them and their culture, and to Elders both past and present.
