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.
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.
Investments
Why markets won’t go back to normal after Iran
The war in Iran heralds a period of prolonged market and economic disruption rather than a “short, sharp shock”, according to BlackRock. But investors can’t afford to tear their eyes away from market shifts already underway before the war began.
Governance
Super switching paranoia drives misinformation campaign
The Super Members Council representing profit-to-member funds claims younger and lower-balance Australians are being transitioned by advisers to “risky” platforms and SMSFs, while the Financial Services Council has fired back with data suggesting it is mostly older, wealthier consumers being advised to switch their super. Aleks Vickovich writes the truth, as usual, is probably somewhere in between.
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Investments
Realities behind the SaaS sell-off
The roughly US$2 trillion ($2.8 trillion) sell-off in the global software sector since September 2025 is, while a painful drawdown for growth investors, also a timely reminder that asset owners should be more alert to stock-specific dispersion and hidden concentration risk inside portfolios, writes JANA head of research execution, Matthew Gadsden.
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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
Super funds urged to lift member outcomes despite reform delays
Australia faces similar demographic challenges to other developed economies in providing a high standard of living to retirees in an ageing population. But we have weakened our system through blocking access to financial advice and delaying reforms to reverse the roadblocks, superannuation industry leaders told the Retirement Policy Outlook 2026 roundtable, hosted by Investment Magazine sister publication Retirement Magazine in partnership with Acenda. The roundtable also featured insights from ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant; APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole; Resolution Life founder, chief executive and chair Sir Clive Cowdery; and Dr David Bell of The Conexus Institute.
Governance
Aware backs tougher law to ensure company action against modern slavery
Aware Super has backed the call for a legislative change that will introduce mandatory human rights due diligence for large Australian companies, as head of responsible investment Liza McDonald said it’s a “reasonable request” which will help asset owners understand and manage the governance risks in their portfolios.
Governance
‘Investment diplomacy’: ART chair lauds super’s soft power role
Outgoing Australian Retirement Trust chair Andrew Fraser says superannuation funds can claim some credit for the Albanese government’s handling of geopolitical risk and the volatile Trump White House in a parting ode to the $4 trillion sector’s growing global influence. But the comments to the corporate regulator’s annual forum came alongside a warning from ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant that member experience should be just as paramount as super’s market and economic power.
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
‘Bang, fizzle, pop’: AustralianSuper CIO laments late tilt to AI
The outgoing chief investment officer of AustralianSuper Mark Delaney said one of the biggest regrets he will have as he leaves the $410 billion fund is not going overweight on the AI and digital thematic in public markets sooner, as the nation’s most powerful allocator reflects on the investment case of the technology sector in the superannuation summit in New York last week.
Investments
High-turnover assets poised to reap largest economic gain from tokenisation
Digitisation and tokenisation are widely touted for their potential in cutting transaction costs and smoothing settlement frictions, but the technology’s real pay-off will come from promoting deeper market liquidity and higher market participation over the long-term, according to a new report from the Digital Finance Cooperative Research Centre.
