AustralianSuper

Labor wants to “super-charge” the Australian economy by putting our largest pool of capital to work both at home and away. But on Your Future, Your Super, they won’t be throwing the baby out with the bath water. The Your Future Your Super (YFYS) reforms represent one of the most daring political plays by the…

The problems with Your Future Your Super (YFYS) run deep – among them, how super funds will manage ESG within the confines of low tracking error strategies. But it’s not the end of the road. Under the YFYS reforms, implementation manager Parametric believes tracking error will face downwards pressure as funds try to stay on…

By 2041, Australia’s super funds will swell to enormous size. How they invest our retirement savings will become an even trickier prospect. Over the next 20 years, the superannuation system will grow to a colossal size – an estimated $9.2 trillion, or 206 per cent of its current size, according to a report from Deloitte’s…

ASIC’s investigation into potential “insider trading” at a number of superannuation funds appears to be approaching its end – but the issue seems far from settled. Accusations of “insider trading” at some of Australia’s largest super funds were first made by Liberal MP Tim Wilson, who accused unnamed executives and employees of switching from investment…

Member engagement is starting to rise from a very low base. But the industry is still “net nowhere” when it comes to winning their hearts and minds. It’s widely acknowledged that member engagement remains unacceptably low. Try as they might, super funds can’t seem to get members to care about their retirement savings, as evidenced…

Ian Silk, AustralianSuper’s powerhouse former chief executive officer, will join KPMG part-time as the firm broadens its focus on ESG solutions. Ian Silk will join KPMG as a special advisor, working on ESG issues as part of the firm’s “reinvigorated plans to help clients embrace the greater focus on ESG responsibilities” as well as on…

The trend towards super consolidation is continuing apace, but there will be fewer mega mergers. It’s now just a matter of mopping up. Mega fund mergers are likely to slow as boards realise the “significant transition planning and integration activity” required to pull them off – but the established mega funds will continue to gobble…

They might be behemoths at home, but Australia’s biggest super funds will be on the backfoot as they scour the globe for investment opportunities. NAB’s biennial FX Hedging survey is not only a good insight into super fund hedging strategies, but the state of the industry itself – particularly its growing interest in markets beyond…

The backyard keeps shrinking. And as another big asset disappears from the public market, Australian listed infrastructure investors will have few options but to look abroad for their exposure. The sale of Sydney Airport has generated plenty of headlines about the might of big super funds; no shortage of acrimony about another of Australia’s sparse…

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…