UniSuper has been named Super Fund of the Year at the 10th annual Chant West Super Fund of the Year Awards in Sydney.
More than 250 guests from across the industry embraced the opportunity to celebrate in-person, watching on as TelstraSuper took out the other major award, Pension Fund of the Year.
UniSuper also took home Best Fund: Advice Services, while last year’s Fund of the Year, AustralianSuper, took home Best Fund: Investments.
This year saw the introduction of a Best Fund: Responsible Investment category, acknowledging the growing importance of this issue for fund members and the broader community, which was won by Aware Super.
The other category winners were:
The theme this year was ‘Raising the Bar’ and Chant West general manager, Ian Fryer, acknowledged the Government and regulators had recently raised the bar for super funds with member outcomes assessments, heatmaps and the performance test.
“For our 2022 ratings, we’ve also raised the bar on the standard we require for a fund to receive our highest rating of five apples. In this year’s awards we wanted to highlight those funds that keep raising the bar to drive better outcomes for their members,” Fryer said.
“The awards was a wonderful celebration of the hard work that funds do to deliver a financially comfortable retirement for their members.”
Rather than retreating in the face of rising volatility and geopolitical uncertainty, superannuation funds are tactically positioning themselves to capitalise on equity market weakness, prioritising liquidity and flexibility to make strategic buys.
The CEO of superannuation advocacy body ASFA has laid out the sector’s expectations for Australia’s next government, underscoring the need for policy stability to safeguard members’ retirement savings.
Aware Super has made a $1.6 billion investment in a 99-hectare industrial precinct in Melbourne’s North which, the fund clarified, also houses the nation’s first privately funded open-access intermodal freight terminal.
ASFA has affirmed its commitment to safeguarding Australia’s retirement savings as cyber activity becomes an increasing challenge for the financial services sector.