Comment

As the new Labor Government explores pathways to 15 per cent, the superannuation industry needs to examine whether that’s really in the best interests of members.

It’s the end of an era as the bear emerges from hibernation. So who’s staying in, and who’s doubling down?

Labor can do little to change the past. But a win in May could usher in a new era of co-operation between big super and the government. There were no surprises in shadow finance minister Stephen Jones’ speech to the 2022 ASFA conference. There is little that Labor can outright promise the industry aside from…

When it comes to geopolitics, investing isn’t as easy as “ESG”. With the prospect of sanctions leaving investors with stranded Russian assets on the balance sheet, several commentators have suggested this could all of have been avoided if those investors just took the “S” (social) and “G” (governance) in “ESG” more seriously. They believe that…

In the aftermath of Your Future Your Super (YFYS), members of dud funds still aren’t moving their super. And it’s not clear what the government and regulators can do about it. It sometimes seems that so much time was spent on implementing the contentious YFYS reforms that the question of what would happen to members…

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s proxy reforms have been blown out of the water. The question that remains is why they were ever proposed in the first place. The decision to disallow Frydenberg’s proxy advice regulations marks the end of a deeply weird saga where Treasury tried to annihilate an entire industry – that barely anybody had…

An ugly situation in markets could be just the thing Hamish Douglass needs to reverse the fortunes of Magellan. But there’s no telling what will happen when it arrives. Hamish Douglass is hoping for rain – or really, the whole storm. He can’t guarantee that Magellan’s flagship global equities fund will do better in one,…

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has sidestepped the Senate to push through controversial reforms to proxy advice, casting the future of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) into doubt. The reforms were pushed through using regulations powers in late December, at a time of year when much of the financial press is winding down and after…

Perhaps it’s too early to be talking about legacy. But Alexis George’s decision to take the reins at AMP rested squarely on just that. Most other executives of Alexis George’s calibre might be happy to rest on their laurels after a career as distinguished as hers. But speaking at the Women in Super (WIS) Sydney…

The emergence of omicron has seen plenty of blood in the streets, and the quiet vindication of one of Australia’s most divisive investors. But doomsday has been postponed again. Like him or hate him, Hamish Douglass was (probably) right. Lambasted for the subpar performance of Magellan’s flagship global equity strategy during an incredible bull run…

Margaret Cole, APRA’s new executive for superannuation, has brought the super war to its most unlikely, and probably reluctant, combatants: members. Faced with the disappointing reality that few have moved out of their underperforming fund in the aftermath of the performance test, Cole has resorted to browbeating them into it. “It has been just over…

The accusations of insider trading hurled at Australia’s big super funds are explosive in nature – and pose something of a headscratcher. Regardless of their weight, reputations are at stake. The revelations made by ASIC on Wednesday last week (October 27) are a tough wake-up call for an industry that prides itself on its duty…