Australia needs more green irons in the fire

It seems nearly every iron ore-related project in the world – including those in Australia currently seeking tens of billions of dollars in investment capital – now claims some sort of green credentials. This is problematic for asset owners, as there are no agreed definitions for “green iron ore”, “green iron” or “green steel”.

Aware Super COO to unleash efficiency after admin in-housing

The role of chief operating officer is assuming greater significance across the industry as major super funds grow and become increasingly complex financial services businesses. Aware Super’s recently appointed COO Sally Collins oversees the agile work practices and human-centred design she says will be critical to better results for members.

Super bodies lobby for death benefit reform to fend off abusers

A joint initiative between the SMC and ASFA, alongside not-for-profit Women in Super, has called on the federal government to introduce reforms that stop family violence perpetrators from receiving their victim’s death benefit payment, in a bid to give trustees more legal power to fend off claims from abusers.

Data centres: ‘Green’ is in the eye of the beholder

Green data centres are hot assets in an even hotter sector, as investors get to grips with the existential need to make these power gobblers energy-efficient. But a real estate ESG expert says the exact meaning of the word “green” is hard to define in this context.

FSC pushes back on YFYS expansion

The peak body for retail funds and asset managers, the Financial Services Council, has argued the Your Future Your Super performance test should stick to monitoring simpler financial products, like MySuper and basic Choice. The FSC believes the performance test is best applied to set and forget products, rather than via channels that cater to personalised and advised channels.

Retail funds making inroads but too soon to declare comeback

After years of being outperformed by industry funds, retail funds are making the most of their improved performance in FY24, boosted by a strong sharemarket. However, industry experts suggest it might be too early to declare that the retail super sector is turning around, and that “stablising” might be a better description.