This Month
Cabal of industry super funds, led by investors, weighed ASX takeover
The ASX is an essential piece of infrastructure, and has a quasi-monopoly position, a description that would fit Sydney Airport, for instance, which went private in a $23.6 billion takeover.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
- Opinion
- Gas
Why Albanese is going all in on gas
The Labor government has infuriated climate activists by insisting that gas will play a crucial role in the energy transition for many decades to come. Big producers like Woodside will wait to see what that means.
- Jennifer Hewett
April
Big super splits on performance test reforms
Labor announced it was reviewing the test after several funds said the current rules stopped them investing in the “nation building” initiatives the government wanted them to bankroll.
- Hannah Wootton
- Exclusive
- Superannuation
Future Fund’s Alicia Gregory moves to $257b US asset manager
The deputy chief investment officer will join Blue Owl Capital, the US investor courting Australia’s superannuation market for over a year now.
- Aaron Weinman
March
Mining rock stars Beament and Finlayson face their reinvention tests
The divergent paths taken by Bill Beament and Raleigh Finlayson over the past two years sum up Australian mining’s green transition. Who’s on the right track?
- Peter Ker
Super funds’ director picks may be conflicted: Chronican
The warning comes as AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder says his fund is reserving its right to put a director on Origin’s board, and as the funds train up cohorts of future directors.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
Super pool to hit $14trn, but a handful of funds will control it
A new report by Mercer predicts that there would be just 77 super funds on the market within four years, but warns funds need to be more proactive in their governance to stay competitive.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
Coalition demands means-testing on parental leave super payments
The opposition says workers with big super retirement savings balances should not get superannuation top-ups paid for by taxpayers.
- Hannah Wootton and Tom McIlroy
‘Absolutely nonsense’: Super funds slam investment banker pay gaps
Investment banks claim it will take a long time to fix mammoth gender pay gaps, blaming systemic factors, but super funds show it can be done quickly, CEOs say.
- Hannah Wootton
February
- Opinion
- Australian economy
Data centres are hot property - and not just for the returns
Macquarie Technology CEO David Tudehope says data centres are not just good investments, they will allow Australia to participate in the entire AI value chain.
- Jennifer Hewett
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Board seats for super raise governance issues
Paul Keating’s 80th birthday interview raises the under-discussed issue of the impact of the $3.6 trillion union-influenced superannuation funds on the nation’s capital markets.
- The AFR View
- Exclusive
- Gender pay gap
Emma fuels jets for the overtime, but she’s a gender pay gap exception
Traditionally male-dominated industries such as energy and construction have wider gender pay gaps, CEOs admit ahead of the historic release of national gender pay gap data.
- Sally Patten and Hannah Wootton
Overtime, bonuses help men earn more than women
Systemic barriers stop women picking up these overtime hours though, putting them even further behind their male colleagues financially.
- Hannah Wootton
Super fees are not coming down like they were supposed to
The running costs of Australia’s biggest industry super funds have not gone down despite their promises that greater scale would drive down expenses.
- Hannah Wootton
Big super renews push to take control of retirement savings
AustralianSuper wants to nudge customers into the retirement phase, help them apply for the age pension, and create ‘accounts for life’.
- Hannah Wootton
NRL shuffles the deck on the eve of Vegas
Three executives are leaving, putting the spotlight back on NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo and his boss, Peter V’landys.
- Updated
- Mark Di Stefano
January
Business bets mega US green bill will survive Trump resurgence
US President Joe Biden’s flagship $US369b clean energy policy will survive a second Trump Administration, leading Australian business figures say.
- Lucas Baird, Aaron Weinman, Jessica Sier, Campbell Kwan, Matthew Cranston and Hans van Leeuwen
Miners, global tech deliver best super returns for 2023
Mine Super returned 11.8 per cent last year, the best-performing growth super fund in 2023, thanks to heavy exposure to global tech stocks as well as local miners.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
- Exclusive
- Superannuation
Revealed: Big super’s executive gender pay gap
Despite pressuring companies to ramp up female representation in their senior ranks, there is just one woman among the top 10 paid executives at the eight most powerful super funds.
- Hannah Wootton and Sarah Mitchell
Super funds step up private lending in challenge to banks
Fund CIOs say increased regulatory scrutiny on bank capital means more borrowers are tapping them for project finance and leveraged buyouts, as well as direct lending.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
