One of Australia’s most experienced chairmen, Phil Chronican, has warned big super’s inevitable rise in influence could create potential conflicts of interest in boardrooms as funds start to make their own director nominations to the companies they invest in.

At the same time, AustralianSuper CEO Paul Schroder said the super giant was reserving its right to appoint a director to Origin’s board after building up a 17.5 per cent stake in the company last year, should it believe doing so was necessary to create long-term value.