POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Whiteley worried industry funds have lost collective purpose
Industry Super Australia (ISA) chief executive, David Whiteley is worried that the industry funds movement may no longer have the collectivist attitude that allowed it to successfully campaign against adviser commissions in the superannuation industry and the broader financial services industry.
Sitting on a panel of industry superannuation fund stalwarts at the Conference of Major Superannuation Funds (CMSF), Whiteley referenced the more than 20-year-long campaign waged by the industry funds against commissions and said he was worried that the unanimity of purpose which had delivered that outcome might not be evident on the part of all industry funds today.
Sitting alongside Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) president, Ged Kearney and Industry Funds Services chairman, Garry Weaven, Whiteley said people from other parts of the financial services industry were becoming part of the industry fund environment and changing attitudes towards collectivism.
He said it needed to be remembered that over the more than 20-year campaign against commissions, not one single industry fund had paid commissions but this solidarity might not be evident today.
Kearney agreed with Whiteley and said that industry funds needed to be careful about the people they recruited to ensure they understood the philosophy of collectivism.
Garry Weaven said that many of those recruited by industry funds were those with technical investment management expertise developed in the financial services industry which did not represent a great ethical training ground; however he acknowledged that their skills had to be valued when they delivered great outcomes for members.
Recommended for you
Private market assets in super have surged, while private debt recorded the fastest growth among all investment types.
The equities investor has launched a new long-short fund seeded by UniSuper, targeting alpha from ASX 300 equities using AI insights.
The fund has strengthened efforts to boost gender diversity, targeting 40:40:20 balance across its investment teams by 2030.
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
