AustralianSuper has done plenty of pioneering, building and leading, and this year it turned stirrer as it almost single-handedly blew up Origin Energy’s attempted $20 billion takeover by two private equity firms.

AustralianSuper chief investment officer Mark Delaney, who has run the $310 billion superannuation fund and its predecessor since it had just $3 billion in assets, says the premise of the Origin campaign was simple. Shaun Manuell, who runs the fund’s Australian equities book, told him the bid undervalued Origin and the team was inclined to reject it.