The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has appointed two new directors to its board, after having completed its annual board nomination and election process.
General manager of MLC Masterkey, Dean Thomas, and chief executive officer of Telstra Super, Martin Crowe, have joined the board as representatives of the retail sector and corporate funds respectively.
ASFA chief, Pauline Vamos, said the 10 board members reflected ASFA's five membership categories: industry funds, public sector, service providers, retail sector and corporate funds.
The new ASFA board is now comprised of the following members: Sunsuper chief Tony Lally and Cbus chief David Atkin, representing industry funds; Michael Dwyer - chief executive officer of First State Super and Brad Holzberger - chief executive officer of QSuper, representing the public sector; service providers Jim Minto (managing director of TAL Limited) and Peter Beck (Pillar Administration chief executive officer); Dean Thomas and Colonial First State Investments general manager strategy, Nicolette Rubinsztein representing the retail sector; and Martin Crowe and Harwood Superannuation Fund chief Roslyn Ramwell from corporate funds.
"ASFA will have significant challenges over the next 12 months dealing with Stronger Super implementation but also dealing with policy development issues around post-retirement and other economic and social policy issues," Vamos said.
"ASFA would also like to take this opportunity and to give very special thanks to board members that retired today - Jane Paskin of Clayton Utz and Janet Torney of QANTAS Superannuation," Vamos added.
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.