Policy and Regulation
Shield, First Guardian trigger sweeping Treasury rethink of consumer protections
A cooling-off period would be applied to inter-fund super fund switches and platform trustees would be on the hook for member losses incurred through fraud or theft under proposals contained in a trio of consultation papers released on Wednesday morning.
Equities
Future Fund boosts active equity program with new EM manager
Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has added an active equity strategy from a local boutique manager to its emerging markets allocation and dropped one of its existing providers after signaling it had identified “inefficiencies” in the space.
Industry trends
Former legalsuper, Rest CIO takes top investment job at Minderoo
Andrew Lill, who this week left his role as interim CIO at legalsuper, is set to take on the top investment job at one of the country’s largest charitable foundations.
Portfolio & risk management
‘Stick to your guns’: HESTA says disciplined DAA still delivers
Dynamic asset allocation has become increasingly popular among pension and sovereign wealth funds as a top-down tool to generate alpha and mitigate risk in the face of changing market conditions, though not every asset owner believes in the approach’s value-add. But HESTA’s general manager of dynamic assets Michael Blayney argues active asset allocation is just natural extension of the underlying logic in security selection.
12 – 14 May, 2026
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
21 July, 2026
Insurance in Super Summit
19 August, 2026
Retirement Leaders Summit
Leadership & profiles
legalsuper CEO, CIO depart amidst industry-wide changing of the guard
legalsuper’s CEO will take up the top job at Equip Super while interim CIO Andrew Lill is departing for parts unknown as a slew of executives step down across the superannuation system.
Featured Homepage Posts
Rest eyes changes to lift its investment team ‘from great to greater’
The $100 billion profit-to-member fund Rest Super is mulling an expansion and upgrade of its investment team as it seeks new ways to invest a growing pool of assets and continue to generate competitive performance for its 2.1 million members. The fund’s newly appointed chief investment officer Michael Clancy tells Investment Magazine that staying connected to the fund’s membership is an important part of the job.
Profiles
First Nations’ inclusion in super hinges on fairness
First Nations people continue to be excluded from participating fully and effectively in superannuation by both legal and organisational barriers. First Nations Foundation managing director Leah Bennett says funds themselves can do much more to help, but change must start at the top.
Member engagement
More data obligations for funds as APRA consults on retirement reporting
With the government’s Retirement Reporting Framework finalised, the regulator is consulting with funds on the structure and timing of an implementation program designed to create a fit-for-purpose regime with minimal additional compliance burden.
Governance
Third HESTA exec heads for the door in less than 12 months
The departure of the $100 billion HESTA’s chief operating officer Stephen Reilly follows those of chief executive Debby Blakey and chief risk officer Andrew Major, and is part of a shake-up among the broader senior ranks of Australian super funds.
Retirement
Building better super boards: the essential skills mix
What does an effective superannuation fund board look like in today’s complex and competitive landscape? Nicolette Rubinsztein draws on almost 10 years of board experience across superannuation and other sectors to outline seven key insights into crafting the optimal combination of skills on super fund boards.
Industry & regulation
Funds face new discretion under plan to block abusers from death benefits
The Albanese government is exploring legislative options to stop domestic violence abusers from gaining control of their victims’ superannuation through death benefits. While this could give trustees greater discretion in assessing a deceased member’s circumstances, complicated cases may add further strains to an already stressed payout process.
Investments
Private credit managers say investor concerns are overhyped
Investment leaders in private credit have dismissed concerns about the asset class, arguing the real issue is a mismatch between the liquidity of the asset class and the expectations of non-institutional investors.
Investments
AustralianSuper’s call for leverage is bold but unnecessary
AustralianSuper’s chief liquidity officer Chandu Bhindi has publicly proposed the idea of allowing some super funds to directly use leverage, enabling them to better manage liquidity requirements in crisis situations rather than being forced to sell assets at stressed prices. While the idea has some merits, overall it is not necessary and could increase system risk.
