Skip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footerHelp using this website - Accessibility statement
Advertisement

Super & Wealth Summit

The Australian Financial Review Super and Wealth Summit brings rivals, customers, service providers and enforcers to discuss investment strategy, regulatory change and policy settings, as well as exploring wealth and advice trends.

Event Partners

Sponsored

Featured

Wayne Swan says the super sector’s infrastructure may not be fit for purpose.

The next big threat to our $4 trillion super sector might lie within

Former treasurer and CBUS chairman Wayne Swan is far from finished fighting the superannuation wars. But he also sees another risk to the sector’s stability.

  • James Thomson
Wayne Swan says the super sector’s infrastructure may not be fit for purpose.

Swan accuses Cbus critics of ‘raw politics’ and ‘deliberate damage’

The former treasurer said industry funds were under attack from critics jealous of their success.

  • Hannah Wootton
Super funds need to speak to young people where they are.

Super funds urged to move on from ‘suboptimal’ apps and get on Reddit

If they want to reach young people, superannuation funds need to talk to them where they are, technology experts say.

  • Amelia McGuire

‘It burns’: AusSuper CIO tormented by $1.1b private equity fail

Mark Delaney spoke candidly about having to write off that sum in equity and loans tied to an American online education start-up.

  • Jonathan Shapiro

Advice reforms to be legislated by May next year: Stephen Jones

The Assistant Treasurer says he is “impatient” to have the next tranche of advice reforms legislated, as super funds push for freedom to give broader advice.

  • Joanna Mather and Lucy Dean
Advertisement

October

 Ian Patrick, CIO, Australian Retirement Trust and John Pearce, CIO of UniSuper

Private markets thawing, says CIO of $330b super fund

Superannuation funds say their size and scale gives them an edge in competing for private assets, but not in public markets.

  • Jonathan Shapiro
HESTA’s Debby Blakey, Australian Retirement Trust’s Ian Patrick, UniSuper’ John Pearce and IFM Investors chair Cath Bowtell gave interesting accounts of how they monitor and enforce standards in ASX-listed companies. The approaches differ.

How big super became the corporate enforcer

Few could’ve predicted who would be enforcing standards in corporate Australia in 2024. It’s all about the weight of money.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Brendan Coates speaks on the super for housing policy at the AFR Super & Wealth Summit in Sydney.

Allow people to ‘cash out’ of super above 8pc: Grattan

A debate about using superannuation for housing prompted the institute’s policy expert Brendan Coates to call for radical change.

  • Lucy Dean
Margaret Cole doubles down on her warnings to super funds over spending at the Super & Wealth Summit.

APRA reveals $10.8b spending by super funds but rules out blacklists

The regulator considered a blanket ban on funds making payments to unions or advertisers, but decided against it.

  • Hannah Wootton

Aware Super watching for transparency in WiseTech review

Representatives of Aware Super, which owns about 1.18 per cent of WiseTech, had a “constructive” meeting with the board and chairman on Monday.

  • Maxim Shanahan
Advertisement
Why using your super to help pay your mortgage is the 'rational' choice
1:38

Why using your super to help pay your mortgage is the 'rational' choice

Grattan Institute's Brendan Coates says he expects to use some super to pay off his mortgage and that is the rational choice for many Australians.

  • Updated
UniSuper CIO John Pearce says it is easier to predict costs than returns.

APRA’s crackdown on super spending needs a sinner

Judging super funds’ spending on investments should be the easy bit. Good luck making sense of “administration and other costs” that make up more than half of funds’ expenses.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Super funds are letting down members at one of their most vulnerable times, Simone Constant says.

Super funds told bigger must be better for customers, too

The $3.9 trillion sector needs to start making good on its promise that scale would lead to better customer service and financial outcomes for members, ASIC says.

  • Hannah Wootton
ACSI CEO Louise Davidson, Aware Super CEO Deanne Stewart and HESTA CEO Debby Blakey are demanding more answers from companies around cultural issues.

Big super pushes boards on culture after WiseTech, MinRes dramas

Industry superannuation funds are ramping up their focus on the culture of the companies they invest in as scandals wipe billions off corporate valuations.

  • Updated
  • Fiona Buffini and Hannah Wootton

August

APRA-regulated funds have to report members pension payments on a quarterly basis but not SMSFs.

Super funds in the new era of scrutiny and engagement

Dissect wealth and advice trends and how to deliver better outcomes for savers, retirees and investors at the Financial Review’s Super and Wealth Summit 2024.

November 2023

BlackRock executive committee member Mark Wiedman.

Baby Boomers need to be open to digital financial advice

There’s a new model in the United States that is taking off and potentially viable in Australia.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Former truck driver Christian Jensen had to apply for two hardship variations on his mortgage thanks to delays from his super fund.

‘Financial heartbreak’: Customer complaints about super jump 32pc

Former truck driver Christian Jensen had to apply for two hardship variations on his mortgage due to delays from his super fund.

  • Hannah Wootton and Lucy Dean
Big super has been a beneficiary of take-private deals, but there are some concerns.

Origin battle shows big super’s angst over the shrinking of the ASX

The tussle for Origin has shone renewed light on whether we should be worried about the ASX shrinking as big companies go private.

  • James Thomson

October 2023

Stephen Jones has read the riot act to the super industry.

The super giant is failing at the grass roots

The super industry has focused itself on piling up members and savings, not on the individuals getting the best results when they retire.

  • The AFR View
Stephen Jones has read super funds the riot act.

Labor savages big super for failing customers

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has read the riot act to superannuation funds over poor customer service and retirement advice.

  • Hannah Wootton and Michael Read
Advertisement
Margaret Cole says APRA will not shy away from enforcement action.

Fundamental change needed to get super funds up to scratch, APRA warns

The watchdog also said that funds’ unlisted asset valuations and liquidity management were under scrutiny as any failures to manage these in the current volatile economy risked customers’ savings and the broader financial system.

  • Hannah Wootton
Lucy Dean, wealth reporter, AFR, Brooke Roberts, Co-CEO and Co-founder, Sharesies, Chris Brycki, founder and CEO, Stockspot and Victoria Devine, managing director, Zella Money, founder, She’s on the money during a panel discussion on delivering on the priorities of a diverse cohort ermerging of investors at the 2023 Super & Wealth Summit at the Grand Hyatt.

What big super can learn from Robinhood

Day trader darling Robinhood mastered the art of customer engagement, even if it went a little too far.

  • Lucy Dean
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court speaks to senior reporter Hannah Wootton.

Don’t overstate active engagement claims, ASIC warns funds

The investment regulator is paying attention to funds holding lucrative investments in the name of active ownership.

  • Lucy Dean
Sam Sicilia, chief investment officer at Hostplus.

Super funds use rising rates to boost returns, lower risk

The surge in bond rates is creating seismic shifts in global asset allocations. Super funds are poised to take advantage.

  • Jonathan Shapiro
Cbus chair Wayne Swan says the $85 billion fund’s property portfolio has proven resilient to high interest rates

‘Not spooked’: Cbus chairman Wayne Swan doubles down on property

Cbus chairman Wayne Swan says the $85 billion fund’s property portfolio has proven resilient to higher interest rates and the fallout of the pandemic.

  • Michael Read