Super Review collates its top 10 most-read stories on the website this year.
In a year of performance tests, consolidation of smaller funds and funds handling market volatility, there was no shortage of news this year.
Super funds had a rough start to 2022 with the median growth fund falling 2.2% in January following a lofty 13.5% bumper year in 2021, according to Chant West.
EISS Super and NGS Super weighed in on the Russia/Ukraine war, reassuring members that conflicts like these usually had short-term negative financial impacts which recover quickly.
Hostplus’ balanced option was the top-performing option in SuperRatings’ 2022 financial year returns report, with the super fund delivering 1.6%.
Two former senior executives at Statewide Super were charged with dishonesty offences related to their procurement of services.
At the start of the year, Mercer Super stated it was looking to participate in superannuation merger activity, later agreeing in May to merge with BT Super.
In June, Active Super and Vision Super signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore a potential merger between the two funds.
Cybersecurity, compliance, and responsible investment were among the key areas of concern for superannuation funds, according to research by KPMG.
Index fund manager, Vanguard Australia, launched its first superannuation product after months of delays. It said the new fund would offer “simplicity, transparency and a low-cost investment approach to deliver a highly sophisticated but easy to understand superannuation offer”.
AustralianSuper and the Australian Retirement Trust’s (ART) balanced options both delivered end of financial year annual returns above SuperRatings’ estimated median.
Former VicSuper chief executive, Michael Dundon, was appointed as chief executive of CareSuper. He would take over from Julie Lander who was leaving CareSuper after more than two decades in March 2023.
Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the Future Fund’s mandate, referring to himself as a “big supporter” of the sovereign wealth fund, amid fierce opposition from the Coalition, which has pledged to reverse any changes if it wins next year’s election.
In a new review of the country’s largest fund, a research house says it’s well placed to deliver attractive returns despite challenges.
Chant West analysis suggests super could be well placed to deliver a double-digit result by the end of the calendar year.
Specific valuation decisions made by the $88 billion fund at the beginning of the pandemic were “not adequate for the deteriorating market conditions”, according to the prudential regulator.