Credit to ASX chief executive Helen Lofthouse for being upfront with investors about the long road the market operator faces to restore the damage to its reputation from the collapse of its project to replace the CHESS clearing and settlement system.

At the company’s first investor day on Tuesday, Lofthouse set out a five-year plan to turn the business around, focusing first on winning back the trust of its regulators and getting the CHESS project back on track, and then hunting growth in areas such as data and developing markets (such as carbon trading) that will be required for the energy transition.