Ian Silk

Overseas, Australia’s biggest super fund is a small fish in a massive pond. To achieve the scale it wants it will have to dive deeper into the private markets, meeting stiff competition from its North American peers along the way.

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…

As AustralianSuper continues to grow, Mark Delaney is focusing his attention on the burgeoning private markets space and the problem of culture in megafund land. “Size can creep up on you. You stand still, and all of a sudden you’re bigger than what you think you are. I first started managing pension money 20 years…

Super funds may soon be forced to reveal internal valuations for unlisted assets. But the lesson from the Future Fund is that the new regulations aren’t in anybody’s best interests. While much of government’s recent focus has been on implementing the “Your Future Your Super” performance test, super funds could also soon be subject to…

In his final speech to the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), Ian Silk defended the organisation against all comers. But the Morrison Government is unlikely to relent. “To be prudent stewards of capital and to act in their members’ best interests, investors must remain focused on ESG issues in their portfolios,” Ian Silk said…

Ian Silk, soon to retire from AustralianSuper, was an infrequent speaker on the conference circuit, but his speeches were memorable. Two were very memorable and, as you might expect, prescient. AustralianSuper announced last week (July 13) that Silk, the first chief executive of AustralianSuper, would retire later this year. He is being replaced by Paul…

Last week was a big one for the chief executives of AustralianSuper and Cbus. Their funds announced record-setting returns for the financial year and the next day they both took another hammering from a Commonwealth parliamentary committee. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, chaired by Tim Wilson, a Liberal MP, is often enlivened…