Investments
How Cbus built its new Australian equity strategy from scratch
Ryan Riedler, head of ASX core strategy, Australian equities at Cbus, says the fund will look to generate alpha locally through engagement and that internalisation will help it strengthen its connection with other market participants, as well as its brokers and service providers.
Leadership & profiles
Super fund executives, regulator honoured on King’s Birthday
The long-serving CEOs of HESTA and Hostplus have both been made Members of the Order of Australia in a move that signals the growing presence of super funds in the Australian political landscape. APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole, who is set to leave the regulator at the end of this month, has also been honoured for her service to the industry.
Policy and Regulation
Super funds hold the capital the world needs: NSW Treasurer
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says last year’s Citi A50 summit is converting investor interest into firm approvals, as the state pushes data centre, renewable energy and electrification projects through a fast-track process and positions Sydney as a global financial centre.
Industry & regulation
APRA performance test data caught Shield, First Guardian growth
Analysis of data collected by APRA for the annual superannuation performance test showed the prudential regulator could see the rapid growth of the Shield and First Guardian master funds. But the prudential regulator defended inaction, saying it doesn’t have the capability to investigate any red flags.
21 July, 2026
Insurance in Super Summit
19 August, 2026
Retirement Leaders Summit
13 – 15 October, 2026
Fiduciary Investors Symposium
Featured Homepage Posts
Prime Super investment boss heads to First Super
The $5.7 billion First Super has appointed Prime Super head of investments Michael McQueen to its top investment job, ending an interim arrangement that has been in place since the resignation of CEO Bill Watson in early January.
Leadership & profiles
GESB CEO calls time: ‘Past regime of default super’ no longer sustainable
GESB chief executive Ben Palmer is set to leave the Western Australian government super fund, ending a 13-year tenure after steering the fund through the most significant change in its history. In a rare interview, Palmer examines the past, present and future of super and explains why GESB is treating platforms, not profit-to-member funds, as its benchmark.
Profiles
Why HESTA’s ‘joined-up thinking’ is one of its CIO’s favourite things
Sonya Sawtell-Rickson joined HESTA as the health industry workers’ super fund was taking steps towards investment internalisation and a total portfolio approach. She says the moves have been vindicated not only by member returns but in the “joined-up” conversations the now-$96 billion fund has with the companies it invests in.
Retirement
Measuring what matters: Redefining retirement success in a maturing super system
As the retirement phase becomes the defining challenge of the superannuation system, the ability to measure what truly matters for members will increasingly shape how funds design, prioritise and deliver retirement outcomes. Funds must be able to measure, understand and improve retirement outcomes, not just investment performance.
Industry & regulation
Super complaints expected to reach 8000 in 2026: AFCA
Superannuation complaints to AFCA are on track to exceed 8000 this year, a second consecutive year of around 30 per cent increases. Heather Gray, who is retiring in May after six years as lead ombudsman for superannuation, told the authority’s Member Forum that the answer to reducing complaints lies in empowering funds’ IDR teams and communicating with complainants and AFCA early. The forum heard that handling unreasonable people is a critical skill.
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.
Business strategy
Aware in growth mode after TelstraSuper merger, bucks outflow trend
The $237 billion megafund says that it’s ready for more mergers but that it won’t be a “buyer of complexity” in an already rapidly consolidating super system – even as it reverse the competitive outflow trend that has dogged profit-to-member super for years.
Investments
Why switching to a reference portfolio metric for YFYS is risky
Treasury’s proposal for a new single-metric performance test may seem refreshing, and sound like progress to a jaded industry, but potential dangers for funds, their members and the system at large lurk underneath.
Investments
How AMP is using AI to hone its competitive edge
The big geopolitical and macroeconomic events of the last six years haven’t changed the investment game, according to AMP CIO Anna Shelley, but they have changed where you play it. The fund is also looking to its investment managers for AI innovations and examining the opportunities in the total portfolio approach.
