ASX Announcements
August
The super funds failing to perform
For the first time, all default MySuper options passed the APRA performance test, but big retail funds continue to underperform.
- Michelle Bowes and Hannah Wootton
Insignia shares sink after ‘disappointing’ dividend pause
Delivering his first full-year results as CEO, Scott Hartley said the dividend freeze was needed to strengthen the balance sheet amid remediation costs.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
July
Insignia fined $10.7m but share price soars
The regulator slammed the financial services giant for “still struggling with foundational issues” such as failing to put members’ money into default MySuper products.
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The grand dame of Australian financial services is making a comeback
MLC is showing signs of life – with an earnings upgrade – and is the face of Insignia’s fightback story. If it wins, the company and its 53,000 shareholders win too.
- Anthony Macdonald
Top 10 super funds revealed for FY24
A small mining industry fund delivered the highest returns for the second year in a row, with two retail super giants joining it in first place.
- Hannah Wootton
Insignia calls in Citi as PE circles; Geoff Lloyd around the hoop
Sources said Geoff Lloyd has been shopping his turnaround credentials and industry nous to potential bidders.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
May
Boomer ‘wave’ of outflows starts to hit super
Australia’s biggest retail superannuation funds are paying out billions more dollars in cash than they are bringing in as baby boomers reach retirement age.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
March
New Insignia CEO promises profit improvement
Scott Hartley admitted that investors will want to see proof of greater efficiencies and cost savings before they embrace the struggling wealth company again.
- Hannah Wootton
February
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Confessions of a royal commission survivor
Renato Mota took on one of the biggest post-royal commission rebuilds at Insignia. He leaves after five years with questions over where advice and super are heading.
- James Thomson
Former AMP executive steps into top job at Insignia Financial
Scott Hartley will step into the role in March, after a career working at wealth and superannuation giants including MLC and Sunsuper.
- Lucy Dean
How a royal commission sank a 175-year-old financial giant
Five years after the Hayne inquiry, it’s easy to forget the scale of the misconduct. The fees-for-no-service scandal alone cost the sector $4.4 billion.
- Lucas Baird
Former AMP exec in pole position to replace Renato Mota at Insignia
Its multiple “advice resets” over the past five years have ensured it is in the too-hard basket for many fund managers.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
January
Super funds step up private lending in challenge to banks
Fund CIOs say increased regulatory scrutiny on bank capital means more borrowers are tapping them for project finance and leveraged buyouts, as well as direct lending.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton
Cbus splits from industry super rivals over performance tests
The Wayne Swan-chaired industry fund urged Treasurer Jim Chalmers to stick to the current regime even as its rivals heavily lobby Canberra for change.
- Hannah Wootton
Local unlisted investments stage comeback for big super
The investment chiefs of the $3.5 trillion super sector say domestic opportunities had “significantly broadened” because of high interest rates, reversing historic orthodoxy that they had outgrown local markets.
- Hannah Wootton
Super fund CIOs go defensive amid fears rates stay high
Investment chiefs who collectively manage more than $1.5 trillion in retirement savings are ramping up their exposure to unlisted assets, private credit and cash.
- Hannah Wootton
November 2023
Super funds on spending spree to improve customer service
But there are concerns the cost of improving service could drive up fees, even as the government and regulators warn of a crackdown on poor standards across the $3.5 trillion sector.
- Hannah Wootton
October 2023
Labor savages big super for failing customers
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has read the riot act to superannuation funds over poor customer service and retirement advice.
- Hannah Wootton and Michael Read
August 2023
AMP, Insignia top super performance test failures
Almost 100 of 800 superannuation choice investments failed the prudential regulator’s earnings and fees benchmark.
- Updated
- Joanna Mather
July 2023
Insignia hives off financial advice arm in bid for profitability
Shares in the wealth giant jumped after the news, which will include a new business owned by advisers.
- Updated
- Hannah Wootton