S&P/ASX100 boards okay, say instos
Institutional investors have given S&P/ASX100 boards quite good ratings in terms of their relevant business experience, accountability to all shareholders and oversight of financial reporting.
Across 17 questions, those three categories scored the highest vote of confidence among the 41 institutions surveyed for the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI's) inaugural board confidence report, rating 3.53, 3.36 and 3.23 out of 5 respectively.
ACSI said 3 indicated a neutral rating.
However, respondents rated independence from management the lowest of all the indicators, followed closely by oversight of mergers and acquisitions.
Interestingly, the lack of confidence in oversight regarding M&A did not extend to the category of other capital management activities, ACSI found, with M&A scoring 2.96 compared with 3.13.
ACSI chief executive Ann Byrne said the survey offered a way to shift the conversation between boards, investors and shareowners from director independence towards competence, stewardship and the environment directors work in.
"Boards that enjoy high levels of investor confidence could be expected to attract capital at a lower cost than boards that are trusted less," Byrne said.
"Similarly, the level of trust placed in the entire cohort of listed company directors plays a role in capital formation and deployment throughout the wider economy."
ACSI will use the results of its survey to drive conversation among shareholders about investor perception of board performance.
AUTHOR
Staff Writer
Money Management staff writers are writers who contribute to the website from time to time. If you would like to discuss the content contained within this article please contact us.
Recommended for you
Dan Farmer, chief investment officer of MLC Asset Management, has detailed how its super fund allocations have evolved and whether the fund will consider investing in bitcoin.
Australia’s superannuation capital has been positioned to play a larger role in south-east Asia’s economic development under a new government-backed deal.
Superannuation funds have become the dominant force behind Australia’s private markets boom, fuelling unprecedented growth and reshaping manager operations.
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock has said the central bank sees private demand picking up over the next year, taking over from public demand.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
215.17 3 y p.a(%)
2
Loftus Peak Global Disruption Fund Hedged
118.15 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
75.00 3 y p.a(%)
4
UBS Solactive Global Pure Gold Miners UCITS ETF Dis USD
61.11 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Complex ETF
60.93 3 y p.a(%)
