Last week, the corporate watchdog claimed the products were too risky for retail investors.

The three products - the 6 Month (Fixed and Variable) Account, 12 Month (Fixed and Variable) Account and At Call Account - sit under the Remara Cash Management Fund, a registered managed investment scheme.

ASIC had hit Remara and its trustee Melbourne Securities Corporation (MSC) with the interim design distribution orders (DDO) stop orders for 21 days unless revoked earlier.

Amendments made by Remara addressed ASIC's concerns by removing 'capital preservation' as a suitable investment objective and introducing a new category of 'low capital volatility'.

It also amended the rating of the consumer's risk and return profile from low to a rating of medium and potentially low to medium.

The fund removed generalised access-to-capital categories and replaced them with categories specific to the products, which consider the redemption timeframes under its constitution.

It also reduced the percentage of investor's investable assets considered to be appropriate for investment in the products from 'major component' (up to 75%) and 'core component' (up to 50%) to 'minor' (up to 25%) and 'satellite' (up to 10%).

ASIC recommended investors in the products to review whether they remain suitable for their financial objectives, situation or needs.

ASIC's surveillance of private credit funds includes targeting the distribution of private credit funds to retail clients through direct and advised channels, as well as examining fees, margin structures and conflict-of-interest management in wholesale private credit funds.

Last week, the corporate regulator urged the private credit sector to uplift standards, noting participants should prepare for enforcement action if they fail to do so.

The RBA said private market activity in Australia has supported favourable business credit conditions over recent years and noted while the rapid growth in the domestic private credit market has been from a low base, concerns over credit quality raise more issues for investor protection than financial stability.

"In sum, while cyclical domestic risks continue to be closely monitored, they are not assessed as posing systemic financial stability risks at present," it said.

On the superannuation sector, the RBA said it is important that as the sector grows, its liquidity risk management practices continue to strengthen to maintain resilience.

The central bank also noted operation resilience requires ongoing action.

"Improving operational resilience has become a prominent focus of regulators, banks, FMIs, superannuation funds and other financial institutions. This includes the development of robust contingency and recovery plans and crisis response capabilities. There is, however, a varying level of preparedness for operational disruptions across the financial system," the RBA said.

"In an environment of rapid technological change, increased concentration, rising interconnectedness and heightened geopolitical risk, maintaining and building operational resilience will require ongoing vigilance across the financial system.

The RBA added capital and liquidity resilience must be maintained.

"It is important that lending standards remain sound in the face of continued strong competition in lending so that resilience is not eroded in an environment more prone to shocks," the RBA said.

"The superannuation sector has been an important source of resilience and stability in the broader financial system over the years, but ongoing work to strengthen liquidity risk management practices is warranted as the sector continues to grow in size and as a larger share of superannuation balances become accessible to members."

Alison Bodinnar has commenced in the role, bringing more than two decades of insurance and financial services experience across Switzerland and Australia.

Most recently, she was the head of products and proposition at Acenda for close to five years. Before that, she was the head of wealth protection product at AMP, where she was stationed for over five years serving in several senior positions.

Earlier in her career, she facilitated insurance claims at Zurich Insurance Company, AXIS Re Europe, and Allianz Australia.

Notably, she also managed a portfolio of high profile legal liability claims for directors and officers for the Federal Government as a liability claims specialist at Gallagher Bassett Services between 2009 and 2011.

"Throughout my career in group insurance, I've developed a deep passion for improving member outcomes. I'm excited to continue that journey with AIA, working alongside our superannuation partners to make a meaningful difference for their members," Bodinnar said on LinkedIn.

"Thank you to the AIA team for the warm welcome. So proud to be part of the team."

In August, AIA restructured its retail business that saw Paula Bourke appointed as the new chief retail insurance officer. Former chief retail insurance and advice officer Pina Sciarrone and chief retail insurance officer for life and health Stephanie Phillips have since left the organisation as part of the restructure.

The life insurer is also now offering lower premiums for total and permanent disability (TPD) via a new product TPD CORE, which requires additional assessment on mental health conditions and specified subjective conditions such as those associated with a client's experience of pain and fatigue symptoms.

Operating in more than 40 markets, the firm has a significant presence in the US, UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

"Our landmark combination gives us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape our industry and to deliver a proposition to clients that hasn't previously existed," Nuveen chief executive William Huffman said.

"Together, we'll create a platform with leading investment performance across every major capital market with the flexibility to tailor solutions to meet clients' specific goals. We'll deliver investment excellence and worldwide breadth, backed by the credibility of decades of on-the-ground presence around the world."

Nuveen said the combined firm will continue to grow and innovate through further investment in capabilities, people and client propositions and with the continued support of TIAA, a patient shareholder that invests alongside clients and has supported the long-term priorities of Nuveen across market cycles.

"Nuveen is essential to our delivery of lifetime income and financial security to millions of people," TIAA chief executive Thasunda Brown Duckett said.

"Completing this acquisition creates one of the largest active global asset managers in the world with the reach, talent and capabilities to compete and win in every major market. This combination accelerates our strategy and strengthens the investment capabilities that power our retirement and annuity products, deepening our ability to deliver on our lifetime income mission for generations to come."

Huffman said over the next 12 to 18 months, Schroders will continue to operate separately within Nuveen, led by Schroders group chief executive Richard Oldfield, who will report to Huffman.

"Today's milestone is an extraordinary moment for our clients and our business," Oldfield said.

"At a time when the world is changing rapidly, we believe active management is more relevant than ever, helping clients navigate uncertainty and achieve the outcomes they need. By bringing together our complementary strengths in active investment, we will offer more to our clients and have more opportunities for growth, underpinned by a shared investment-led culture, long-term perspective and deep heritage."

Nuveen added it intends to establish a unified investment platform with the full breadth of public and private market capabilities, led by Saira Malik who will serve as chief investment officer, also reporting to Huffman.

Johanna Kyrklund will become the combined firm's chief investment officer of public markets and solutions with responsibility for equities, fixed income, multi-asset and solutions, eventually reporting to Malik.

The firm intends to organise its combined $400 billion private markets platform by asset class, reflecting a commitment to broadening the firm's offering to clients.

Nuveen and Schroders intend to maintain their existing investment teams across both asset and wealth management for at least 12 to 18 months post-completion as integration planning takes place.

Nuveen and Schroders will also build on the presence and market positioning of Schroders' wealth management businesses, including Cazenove Capital, which are key strategic elements of the combined firm's strategy.

The acquisition of the newly developed, Coles-anchored centre is QIC's second convenience retrial purchase in less than 12 months, following its acquisition of The Albany in Sydney's Crows Nest in December 2025.

Opened in September 2025 by Frasers Property Australia, Mambourin Marketplace spans 7500 square metres and comprises a full-line Coles supermarket, 25 specialty stores and a medical precinct.

QIC Retail Estate Core Plus Strategies fund manager Charles Occhino said the purchase represented a further step in the group's everyday retail strategy, with capital redeployed following recent industrial divestments.

"We have remained selective on deployment with a clear focus on opportunities where pricing, asset quality and long-term fundamentals align with our disciplined portfolio growth strategy," Occhino said.

The centre is positioned to benefit from residential development across Melbourne's west, with its main trade area forecast to exceed 90,000 residents by 2036. It also forms the first stage of a broader town centre precinct.

Occhino said the centre's supermarket anchored income and growing catchment aligned with QIC's focus on essential retail, particularly as higher interest rates place pressure on discretionary spending.

"As consumers become more deliberate about discretionary spending, demand for everyday essentials remains resilient as we're seeing across our portfolio" he said.

The acquisition builds on QIC's existing convenience retail holdings, which include Pittwater Place in Sydney, Big Top Shopping Centre on the Sunshine Coast, Kippa-Ring Shopping Centre and Nerang Mall in Queensland.

QIC said it would continue to pursue further convenience retail opportunities while maintaining a disciplined approach to pricing, as it seeks to grow its portfolio and capture potential income growth from expanding communities.

The partnership brings together Swyftx's digital asset platform and dedicated SMSF account offering with ESUPERFUND for establishment, administration and compliance services.

Swyftx customers establishing an SMSF can now access ESUPERFUND's services, and once established, eligible customers may choose to open a Swyftx SMSF trading account to invest in digital assets, it said.

Swyftx chief executive Andrea Yuen said the partnership strengthens Swyftx's offering to Australia's SMSF market.

"SMSFs are becoming an increasingly important part of the digital asset landscape in Australia, and we want to make the experience as straightforward as possible for trustees who choose to include crypto within their investment strategy," Yuen said.

"ESUPERFUND has significant experience and scale in the Australian SMSF sector. Bringing together their administration expertise with Swyftx's dedicated SMSF trading accounts and digital asset capabilities creates a strong end-to-end proposition for customers.

"Importantly, this isn't about telling Australians what they should invest in. It's about giving SMSF trustees who have made the decision to consider digital assets access to the infrastructure, service and support they need to do so."

Meanwhile, ESUPERFUND associate director Mark Needham highlighted the administrative efficiencies on offer for trustees.

"ESUPERFUND has always been focused on making the administration of an SMSF as straightforward and efficient as possible while leaving investment decisions with the trustees," Needham said.

"This partnership gives Swyftx customers who have independently decided that an SMSF is appropriate for them access to ESUPERFUND's establishment and administration services.

"With trustee's authorisation, Swyftx transaction data can now be transferred to ESUPERFUND for accounting and compliance purposes. This reduces the need for trustees to provide transaction records manually and supports accurate SMSF accounting and compliance reporting."

The strategy will lend across a range of sectors including equipment leasing, transportation, consumer, real estate and infrastructure.

The fund attracted a globally diversified base of institutional investors, including US public pension plans and sovereign wealth funds.

"As the private asset-backed market grows, its sheer variety across sectors, structures and risk/return makes the market difficult to navigate," Oaktree managing director and portfolio manager Brendan Beer said.

"We see that as opportunity, giving us real freedom to pursue the best relative value. Our approach is simple: survey a very broad market for less-crowded lending opportunities, and subject them to Oaktree's critical eye."

Across the broader asset-backed finance platform, Oaktree has invested more than US$19 billion.

Beer added the partnership with Brookfield has supercharged Oaktree's proprietary sourcing and added differentiated perspectives to investment decisions.

The two firms first partnered in 2019, when Brookfield paid about $6.8 billion for a 62% stake in Oaktree. Last year, Brookfield became the owner of Oaktree after scooping up the remaining 26% stake in the credit fund manager for US$3 billion.

"The Asset-Backed Financial Fund's final close builds on Brookfield's longstanding partnership with Oaktree, which dates back to 2019," Oaktree said.

"Now as an integrated business, the strategy benefits from deeper sourcing and underwriting expertise, harnessing Brookfield's global scale and extensive operating platform."

The fund is complementary to Brookfield's broader asset-based finance platform, which totals more than US$60 billion and provides access to opportunities including specialty finance, residential non-qualified mortgages, aviation lending, music royalties, fund finance and digital infrastructure leases.

Australian shares fell more than 3% during the month, with 10 of the market's 11 sectors declining. US shares lost 0.5%, but UniSuper head of fixed interest David Colosimo said the headline figure obscured deeper weakness, with the equal-weighted US market falling more than 5%.

"If you take that out, the US was just as weak or maybe even weaker than Australia," Colosimo said.

AI infrastructure was a key source of support, with the semiconductor index gaining 10% and Meta rising 27% following the release of new products, including its AI assistant, Muse. However, Colosimo said the technology could also challenge established business models, with Expedia falling 17% and Amazon declining 4% amid concerns about AI- driven disruption.

"I put it down to two things; the surge in oil prices... and the second thing is the increase in bond yields," he said, pointing to rising energy costs and higher borrowing costs as key pressures on markets.

Colosimo said persistent oil supply constraints were adding to inflation risks, warning that "that'd be a real headwind to growth and further entrench these inflationary pressures."

Bond yields have risen across major economies, reflecting higher inflation expectations resilient growth and borrowing to fund AI investment. "You've got higher inflation and resilient growth, it's just been a recipe for rate hikes by central banks," he said.

Australian mining stocks also struggled amid concerns about Chinese demand and global growth, with BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue falling between 5% and 8%.

Looking ahead, Colosimo said US corporate earnings and the upcoming midterm elections would be key market considerations in October, alongside inflation data and central bank decisions.

While further US rate rises remain a possibility, he said the Reserve Bank of Australia may pause to assess the impact of its latest increase, with its next move dependent on incoming inflation figures.

Praemium chief executive Anthony Wamsteker has stepped down from his role, effective immediately.

Last week, the platform brought forward its board leadership transition, with board member Matthew Quinn replacing chair Barry Lewin, who stepped down after almost a decade from the role. Quinn joined the Praemium board on June 1 as a non-executive director and assumed the chair role on September 22.

Praemium chief commercial officer Denis Orrock will take over the role of the acting chief executive, as the board undertakes the recruitment process for a permanent replacement.

Orrock joined Praemium in 2022 and has over 30 years of experience in financial services including as chief executive of GBST Broker Services and head of capital markets.

Quinn said renewal of leadership happens from time to time in every company, and this is no different. He added the new leadership will focus on the same goal with faster pace, better execution, and increased focus on customers.

"Praemium is at an exciting and pivotal point. We are currently transforming our technology platform and over the next year we will progressively roll out the new platform to our clients," Quinn said.

"This will include a suite of new functionality and product enhancements designed to improve client user experience and enhance their productivity.

"Denis and the management team are focused on delivering this project efficiently and cost effectively and building revenue from both existing and new clients via their adoption of the company's new and enhanced products."

The new technology platform is also expected to deliver efficiency and productivity gains for the company with associated reductions in the cost base.

The board thanked Wamsteker for his time as the chief executive. He has a three-month notice period and will assist Orrock as he steps into the role of acting chief executive.

Orrock's total fixed remuneration would be $765,900, same as Wamsteker. Orrock's target short-term incentive opportunity, and existing long-term incentive plans remain unchanged during the period of his acting chief executive appointment.

The platform is sharply focused on targeting the high-net-worth segment and recently said the strategy has worked out to its favour, as total funds under administration (FUA) jumped to $77.9 billion for the year ending 30 June 2026, a 21.1% increase from last year.

Praemium shares jumped 10% in early trade following the leadership change.

Trading in Clime will remain suspended until after the FY26 annual report is released on the ASX.

"While this is disappointing, the board is not aware of any material change to the preliminary financial report published on 31 August 2026," Clime said.

It expects to release the audited reports in the coming days.

Clime said estimated pre-tax profit remains at $1 million, with the board intending to declare a fully franked dividend of 50 cents per share on completion of the audit.

Clime recently said it is selling its separately managed accounts (SMA) products and some managed funds for about $7.7 million to an unnamed party.

"Commercial terms are agreed. These transactions represent further progress in exiting sub-scale retail product structures and aligning the group to its future mandate-led operating model," Clime said.

The group has also finalised the sale of its retail advice arm, Clime Advice, for $6 million, comprising $1 million in equity and vendor finance of $5 million. It retains a 10% interest in the newly combined business.

The Australian Financial Review recently reported Clime Private Wealth was barred from the Netwealth platform two months ago following a review.

Clime Investment Management managing director Michael Baragwanath told Financial Standard the report is incorrect without providing further details.

Clime Private Wealth chief executive Kieran Berry and Clime Investment Management executive director John Abernethy did not respond to requests for comment.

A Netwealth spokesman said: "We will not comment on individual clients, advisers, or fund managers, and will not be drawn into specifics of any particular matter. What we can say is that our governance processes are designed to identify issues early, and our preference is always to work collaboratively with our platform stakeholders toward resolution."

These funds join Australian Retirement Trust - Super Savings, Aware Super, Brighter Super, Hostplus and UniSuper in the list of accredited funds.

The retirement-readiness framework offers a consumer-focussed assessment against 20 key criteria, evaluating the range of services and support super funds offer to pre-retirees and retirees. Funds must satisfy at least 14 out of the 20 criteria.

"There were new criteria introduced this year assessing cyber-safety, as well as a complaints-handling metric and more detailed requirements around access to financial advice and education. We saw a marked improvement in the way super funds were managing these important aspects of their operations," Chant West general manager Ian Fryer said.

"There has been a lot of development work by retail super funds across advice provision (digital & phone), engagement, and retirement income tools and calculators, leading to two of the three new funds being retail funds.

"Several more funds introduced a retirement bonus this year, but there was less innovation in terms of lifetime products. We're hoping to see more work in this space by next year."

Last year, ASIC slammed super trustees for poor retirement communications practices, finding that many funds are missing opportunities to engage with members throughout retirement and provide more meaningful support.

ASIC's review, Report 818 From superficial to super engaged: Better practices for trustee retirement communications, found some trustees offer one-size-fits-all retirement communications aimed primarily at pre-retirees.

Epic Retirement Institute founder Bec Wilson said the first year of the tick put a visible benchmark in front of funds and consumers.

"Funds that didn't meet the standard wanted to understand where they fell short and what they needed to do differently. Some have brought forward retirement initiatives, improved existing services or put greater focus on areas that weren't measuring up," Wilson said.

"Impressively, some of the funds that received the tick have continued to build on what they offer.

"That is exactly what we hoped would happen. The tick was never designed simply to identify the funds meeting the standard. It was designed to help lift the standard across the industry."

AMP Group executive of superannuation and investments Melinda Howes said the recognition reflects AMP's ongoing focus on helping Australians navigate the transition into retirement with greater confidence.

"Australians spend decades building their super, but retirement is when they need their fund to really step up. That means helping members turn their savings into the highest possible income, understand their options and get the guidance and support they need," Howes said.

"Retirement is a major focus at AMP - from investing differently for members in retirement and providing income for life through AMP Super Lifetime, to expanding access to simple digital and phone-based advice."

Howes added receiving the Epic Retirement Tick is further recognition of AMP's work, but the job isn't finished.

"With millions of Australians approaching retirement, we're continuing to lift the support we provide to help more members feel confident about the years ahead," she said.

Fryer said super funds' response to the introduction of the tick has been very positive and created genuine dialogue about how the funds can lift their standards for the benefit of members heading towards and already in retirement

"Ultimately, we want as many Australians as possible to have access to the advice, products, tools and service that help them maximise their financial security in retirement. Super funds are working towards the same outcome, and the tick supports their journey towards achieving that goal," Fryer said.

IFM Investors' Private Markets 700 (PM700) survey, which gathered insights from 700 senior investment professionals across pension funds, insurance companies, wealth managers and investment consultants, displayed a heightened sentiment in allocating capital towards private markets, driven by opportunities arising from megatrends like deglobalisation, decarbonisation and digitisation.

"The global race to invest in digital transformation and AI, which was viewed as the third most impactful force in 2025, now ranks second," the report said.

"The imperative to mitigate climate change by decarbonising and make investments associated with the energy transition, and demographic change and population growth are also viewed as key drivers."

Seventy-one percent noted investing in the megatrends is "essential" to achieving their returns objectives. Private markets are seen as an effective way to access these overarching themes.

While a total of 61%, rising to 68% in Asia Pacific, said private markets are better than public markets for building megatrend exposure. Just under half (45%) view private markets as core driver for "structural growth" in opportunities like artificial intelligence and the energy transition.

Speaking to Financial Standard, IFM Investors global head of investment research Jeff Chee said Australian investors are constantly taking megatrends into account, as well as inflation volatility and supply constraints, but are also considering demographics in aging populations, evolution of workforces and societies, and debt and deleveraging.

"Very high levels of public debt do constrain the ability for potential sovereigns to finance the investment that's required for the energy transition, AI CAPEX, etc," he said.

He also reiterated that no asset class is economic shock proof, but private markets tend to be more "naturally resilient" towards economic shocks than conventional public market and macro-sensitive assets.

"But if we think more broadly about the big picture megatrends... a lot of them point towards increasing inflation volatility because of consumption of commodities or hitting supply constraints," he said.

"Inflationary environments, particularly those that are driven by supply shocks, are challenging traditional portfolio construction when equities underperform and bonds fail to diversify equity risk. On the flip side, the supply constraints and inflation volatility mean assets that are scarce and ascent into the economy are becoming increasingly important."

The survey also found investors are finding infrastructure equity to be the most "appealing" of all private market asset classes, narrowly ahead of private equity, with 63% stating they want to add to their infrastructure equity allocations over the next three to five years.

In response, Chee noted investors are generally attracted to the sector from developments like data centres and redevelopments of aging infrastructure.

"Infrastructure was definitely the asset class that, of the market asset classes, that was the one where there was the most investor interest in terms of allocation," Chee said.

"The energy transition is one area where significant investments going to be required; we can already see there's a lot of activity going around potential data centres, [but] this is not saying that IFM has a view that these are necessarily attractive in isolation or in absolute terms.

"It is really important to be careful about asset selection and we're seeing some social backlash on these assets."

He also emphasised the need to upgrade general infrastructure obsolescent cyclical investments, highlighting investing in open-ended infrastructure will take charge.

"Open-ended infrastructure investing is the ability to invest capital by improving existing platforms, reinvesting in existing assets and generating value via active management rather than adding new assets," he said.

"It is also about improving what's there and actively manage the assets that we own will be as important as finding the next attractive deal."

The industry reported net inflows of $12.14 billion during the period.

"This is a steady and positive result for the managed accounts sector, during a six-month period of modest overall capital growth in Australian and global markets, and a degree of market uncertainty and geopolitical factors," IMAP chair Toby Potter said.

Managed accounts grew by $60.2 billion in 2025 to reach close to $300 billion at the end of December 2025.

Adviser adoption is also becoming mainstream, with the latest Investment Trends research showing 61% of advisers in Australia are already using managed accounts, and another 13% are considering doing so.

Separately managed accounts accounted for 65% of the market share of the total FUM, whereas managed discretionary accounts (MDAs) remained stable at 20.3%.

The IMAP FUM census collected data from 40 organisations, which includes the platforms who report the market's SMA FUM on behalf of their SMA provider clients.

"This census report is an integral part of IMAP's role as a voice of the managed accounts industry, able to represent and support advisers, their clients, investment managers and platforms," Potter said.

"We thank the participants for their efforts and cooperation to enable this reporting to be provided by the managed account sector for public awareness."

Clare Butler has joined as general manager, people, culture, and capability while and Amara Haqqani has been appointed general manager proposition, planning and performance. Aileen Koh has also moved into the role of general manager compliance.

The $65 billion fund will further expand its leadership team appointing Adam Matheson as general manager governance and company secretary in early October, and Craig Roodt as senior manager, investment risk and Jane Macnamara as general manager corporate affairs and advocacy in November.

"Each brings a wealth of experience, leadership and expertise that will help CareSuper continue delivering strong outcomes for our members, employers and stakeholders," a CareSuper spokesperson said.

The appointment follows a broader expansion of the fund's investment capabilities this year, including the appointment of Jessica Melville as general manager portfolio management and Andrew Thomas as general manager portfolio design in August.

Melville joined CareSuper from AustralianSuper, where she spent most of five years as head of mid risk portfolio strategy and research. She is responsible for driving CareSuper's investment program across asset classes.

CareSuper also reported solid investment performance over the 2025-26 financial year, with its Balanced option returning 7.73% in the year to 30 June 2026 and its Retirement Income Balanced option returning 8.25%.

The fund said all pre-mixed options exceeded their CPI + percentage point investment objectives over the 10 years to 30 June 2026.

The latest leadership appointments come as CareSuper continues to build its organisational and investment capabilities following the significant expansion of its investment team.

"We are excited to have them on board and look forward to the valuable contributions they will make to our fund," the CareSuper spokesperson said.

The annual member administration fee will fall 23% from $78 to $60, reducing the fixed cost from $1.50 to $1.15 a week for eligible members.

Investment fees and costs will also fall across MLC Super's MySuper and Simple Choice options, with reductions of up to 0.07 percentage points a year.

MLC Super's flagship MySuper Growth portfolio, its largest option by funds under management, will see its investment fee fall from 0.69% to 0.67%, a year. The MLC High Growth option will also fall, from 0.85% to 0.83%.

Members invested in some MLC Fixed Interest and Property options will also see lower buy-sell spreads, with Fixed Interest spreads falling to 0.10% for both purchases and sales from 0.15% and 0.20% respectively.

Property spreads will fall from 0.30% for both purchases and sales to 0.20%.

MLC super chief executive Dave Woodall said the changes were intended to leave more members' money invested for retirement.

"We've reduced the headline fee, brought down a range of investment costs and made it cheaper for members to transact," Woodall said.

"Every dollar a member doesn't pay in fees is a dollar that stays in their account, compounding over their working life, to help grow their superannuation balance and give them confidence in retirement."

MLC super said most members would save $18 a year in administration fees, while a member with a $250,000 accumulation balance invested in MLC MySuper would save an average of $68 a year.

The changes will also simplify how members and employers make contributions, with members moving to direct debit and PayID, while employers will use Superstream.

"Confidence in super is built on people understanding what they are paying, what they are invested in and what it means for them," Woodall said.

"Collectively, these changes improve value for members while reinforcing our commitment to maintaining a competitive, efficient and contemporary product suite."

The investment will support Copia's plans to expand distribution, improve scalability and strengthen support for its existing affiliate fund managers, while allowing the group to explore partnerships with additional specialist managers.

Copia, which was founded in 2000, had $9 billion in funds under distribution across five affiliates and 13 strategies as of 31 August 2026.

Its investment partners include Artisan Partners, Chester Asset Management, HSBC Asset Management, Mutual Limited and OC Funds Management, with strategies spanning Australian and global equities, cash and fixed income and global listed infrastructure.

Copia will continue to operate autonomously, with its executive team retaining majority ownership and responsibility for day-to-day operations. Its affiliate managers will also retain control over their investment approaches.

Copia chief executive Sam Baillieu said Scarcity's industry experience and relationships would support the groups growth ambitions.

"We wanted a strategic investor who understood our model and could help us take it further," Baillieu said.

"Scarcity brings deep industry experience and the relationships that will help us pursue new opportunities in Australia and internationally."

Scarcity Partners managing partner Adrian Whittingham said Copia had established a scalable platform through its relationship with assets managers, advisers and platforms.

"Copia occupies an important position within the Australian investment management landscape having truly built a scalable growth platform," Whittingham said.

The transaction will also see Scarcity founding partner Matthew Webb join the Copia Holding Company board as a non-executive director, while Peter Polson steps down.

Webb brings more than 25 years' asset management experience, including 15 years at Magellan Asset Management, where he helped support its international expansion.

Bruce Loveday will remain as chair.

Rest chief strategy and corporate affairs officer Tyrone O'Neill has finished up at Rest after more than seven years. He joined the super fund in 2019 as group executive of member engagement before being promoted to his latest role in March 2023.

In response, Rest told Financial Standard it has brought together the role of finance and investment operations, and most strategy and corporate affairs functions together under the new chief commercial officer role. The inaugural appointment was announced in July.

Rest chief executive Vicki Doyle thanked O'Neill for his contributions.

"We are deeply grateful to Tyrone for his significant contributions to Rest and to our members," she said.

"Over seven years at Rest, Tyrone has made a substantial contribution across member engagement and strategy and corporate affairs, where his thoughtful leadership and strategic council has been highly impactful."

Sharing his departure on LinkedIn, O'Neill said he'd spent an incredible period at the super fund, which had been a highlight of his career.

"To begin with I'd like to express my enormous thanks to chief executive Vicki Doyle, who brought me into Rest. Vicki is an exceptional leader and chief executive, with a rare balance of member-centricity, performance focus, and a genuine, humanistic style," O'Neill said.

"I'd like to thank the members of Rest's executive team and board over my tenure, from whom I have learnt a great deal. I'd also like to express my warm thanks to the amazing people at Rest I have had the opportunity to work with, both those within teams I've led as well as others across the organisation. Rest has a special culture and a wonderful team.

"I am delighted to have been able to apply the skills I developed through my earlier career in such a purpose-driven organisation."

Simultaneously, O'Neill stepped away from his capacity as non-executive director at the Investor Group on Climate Change. He noted he will be taking some time off in the coming months and intends to return to the workforce in the first half of next year.

The news comes after Scott Tully, former general manager, product, bowed out of the organisation after nearly four years last month.

In August, former chief financial officer John O'Sullivan left the fund to take on the role of head of financial and tax and deputy chief financial officer role at HESTA, while Sarah O'Brien, the former head of regulatory, joined ASFA as chief practice officer.

Financial Standard understands O'Neill's departure is part of a broader executive team restructuring currently underway and there may be further departures in the coming months.

Len Chersky has left the firm this week. He joined Brookfield in January 2014 after a brief stint at Lendlease as executive director of resources infrastructure.

He began his career as a quantitative analyst at Zurich Financial Services Australia and served in senior positions at Moodys Corporation, Alinta Energy, and Babcock & Brown previously.

Brookfield declined to comment on his departure but noted clients and shareholders were informed Chersky would be leaving the company in July 2025.

Chersky's regional leadership role, overseeing Australia and east Asia, was taken over by Aditya Joshi, who was appointed head of Asia Pacific and Middle East private equity.

Additionally, Shiv Gupta was appointed head of Australia private equity in March 2026.

During the period, Chersky assisted with the transition of the role as well as the strategic review of La Trobe Financial, which resulted in a partial sale to Axight in April 2026 for $3 billion.

"It's been almost exactly 13 years since I met my partners, as the first dedicated private equity hire in APAC. It's been quite a journey," Chersky said in a post on LinkedIn.

"Looking back, what stands out isn't any single deal. It's the people. I've been lucky to work alongside colleagues, management teams and co-investors who were as generous with their time as they were sharp in their thinking. Together we backed great businesses, worked through some tough situations, and celebrated plenty of wins.

"To my Brookfield colleagues, our portfolio company leaders, and the investors and advisers who placed their trust in us: thank you! I've learned more from you than I could ever repay. I am fortunate to now call many of you my friends.

"I leave proud of what we built together and excited for what comes next. I'll be cheering the team on from close by."

The industry has committed to better claims processes, greater clarity for customers about mental ill-health and cover, improved access to information and assistance for First Nations peoples, and stronger independent oversight through upcoming changes to the Life Code.

The Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) commissioned the independent review to test the Life Code's commitments to customers.

"Australia's life insurers support a strong, clear, and accountable Life Code that protects people when they need it most," said CALI chief executive Christine Cupitt.

"We initiated this independent review because trusted industries listen, test their commitments, and improve."

Led by Peter Kell, the review made 85 recommendations. CALI said the life insurance industry supports the majority of the recommendations, with further work and consultation on more complex recommendations to wrap up in the first half of 2027.

Cupitt told Financial Standard the reason for not immediately implementing some of the changes is to allow time for the industry to "get it right".

"The test of the Life Code is the benefits that it provides for our customers. So, it's important that we take time on the more complex measures to get them right," Cupitt said.

"There are four priority workstreams that we included in our response. The first covers some of the mental health recommendations, and again, these are important to get right. The extra process that we'll have will take into account more customer perspectives. It's also a recommendation of the reviewer himself that we conduct a further process around some of his recommendations.

"So that'll be a very important piece of work, and we'll do that in consultation with our members, with mental health stakeholders, and with other stakeholders."

Cupitt said there was also more work to be done around claims handling recommendations, so another priority workstream has been established around those recommendations.

"There are a number of them, they are complex, and many of them overlap and overlap with our legal obligations. So, we really want to take the time to work methodically through those and make sure that they are ultimately going to deliver a more practical experience for customers who are working their way through a claim," she said.

Cupitt said the Life Code must keep pace with changing community needs and expectations.

"We will implement changes to deliver meaningful improvements for the life insurance customers we serve every day and to strengthen the Life Code overall."

Some of the changes include improving how claims processes work in practice; offering tailored support earlier to customers experiencing financial difficulties; access to a real person with the right knowledge to help during a claim; making it easier for First Nations peoples to find information and support; stronger privacy and safety protections for people experiencing family and domestic violence; clearer, more useful information about what customers are covered for, how much life insurance costs, and how discounts may affect future costs; and greater accountability, including broadening the powers of the Life Code Compliance Committee

"Throughout this process, it is essential customers remain at the centre of all our discussions, particularly those with lived experience," Cupitt said.

"As we continue to work on final drafting of the updated Life Code, we will be focused on bringing consumer voices, lived experience, specialist expertise, regulators, and our industry together.

"A better Life Code does not mean a longer or more complex Life Code. The real test is the difference it makes for customers."

Current chief member officer Michelle Boucher is stepping into the top job following an "extensive selection process".

REI Super chair Geoff Peck said the board is confident in Boucher's leadership, deep industry expertise, and commitment to delivering strong outcomes for members.

"Michelle is an exceptional leader with a proven track record in the superannuation industry and a strong commitment to members," Peck said.

"She brings more than two decades of executive and strategic experience spanning superannuation operations, governance, regulation, investments and member services. Her leadership, experience and clear focus on members make her the ideal person to lead REI Super into its next chapter of growth and development."

Peck said REI Super was well positioned to continue building on its strong foundations as the specialist super fund for Australia's real estate industry.

"REI Super has a proud history of serving the real estate profession, and Michelle's appointment ensures the fund is well placed to continue supporting members at every stage of their financial journey while pursuing opportunities for future growth," he added.

Boucher brings over 20 years' experience. Before joining the super fund, she held senior executive roles including deputy chief executive at First Super and several executive positions at Cbus and ESSSuper.

Boucher said she was honoured to be appointed chief executive.

"I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead REI Super and work alongside our talented team to continue delivering for members and employers across the real estate industry," she said.

"REI Super has a strong member-first culture, a clear purpose, and a unique position within the industry. I look forward to building on the fund's strengths, supporting our members to achieve better retirement outcomes, and positioning the fund for continued success in a rapidly evolving superannuation landscape."

Media reports have named the MCP Wholesale Investments Trust and the MCP Real Estate Debt Fund among those frozen.

The responsible entity, The Trust Company (RE Services), part of Perpetual, said the suspension was due to the same matters it disclosed two days ago, when it flagged the audited accounts would differ from the preliminary figures released in August.

All the three funds were also suspended from trading on Monday.

Those adjustments cut the net tangible asset (NTA) backing of the three listed funds: by 2% for the Metrics Master Income Trust (MXT), 10% for the Metrics Income Opportunities Trust (MOT) and 12% for the Metrics Real Estate Multi-Strategy Fund (MRE).The revisions have wiped an estimated $169 million from the combined value of the three funds.

The responsible entity said the changes stemmed from adjustments recognised in the unlisted wholesale funds. The listed funds are feeder funds whose values are determined by the net asset value of those underlying funds.

The audited accounts, due today, have also been delayed after auditor KPMG said it could not provide its audit opinion by the September 30 deadline. All the three ASX-listed funds will remain suspended from trading until they are lodged.

ASIC recently urged the private credit sector to uplift standards, noting participants should prepare for enforcement action if they fail to do so.

ASIC commissioner Simone Constant said the regulator is now "beyond warnings" and pushed players to assess themselves against its 10 best practice principles.

"Some of these investors - through structuring, hidden leverage or complex liquidity management practices - may find themselves exposed in ways they did not understand or could not have anticipated," Constant had said.

"In fact, some private credit experts we have worked with over the past 18 months agree that for some funds, even the most sophisticated investors could not really be sure what they were exposed to and how it would respond to a test.

"This is why we have repeatedly called for effective disclosure and consistency of terms."

Investment services provider Ord Minnett said whilst the news of a material difference in audited accounts was "disappointing", it emphasised the quantum of the differences for the income statement is not yet known.

After the three listed funds were put on trading halt, Pinnacle Investment Management swiftly informed the market that it has a 35% equity interest in Metrics Credit, the holding company of Metrics, and it accounted for close to 7% of the company's profits in the last financial year.

Even before the audit adjustments, investors had been pricing in more risk for the listed funds. MRE was trading at a 27.2% discount to net asset value (NAV) and MOT at 23.3% as of July 31, according to Morningstar.

Property developer Bathla Group went into voluntary administration in late August, raising fears that investors will pull back from private credit funds exposed to the property sector.

In response, MA Financial introduced a temporary monthly redemption limit for the MA Secured Loan Series as a proactive measure in response to the potential for increased redemption activity.

Late August, Centuria Bass temporarily paused redemptions and applications to two of its private credit funds, the Centuria Bass Credit Fund and the Bass Property Credit Fund, over increased redemption requests driven by concerns around Bathla Group. It anticipates that the freeze on redemptions will remain in place for between two to six months.

Matthew Pilcher, who has been with the firm since 2014, was appointed in the role.

Pilcher joined PPS Mutual ahead of its Australian launch and has served as director of proposition for more than a decade. He designed Professionals Choice, PPS Mutual's specialist life insurance offering.

He was also key in launching the PPS Mutual Super Fund in 2019, allowing eligible professionals to fund their premiums through superannuation. Prior to PPS Mutual, Pilcher spent 14 years at Munich Re of Australasia.

"I've been part of this journey since before we launched, and seeing PPS Mutual grow to more than 18,000 members and approaching $150 million of in-force premiums has been remarkable," Pilcher said.

"But scale isn't the goal in itself. What it gives us is the capacity to do more for the professionals who own this business, and for the advisers who look after them.

"As a mutual, every opportunity we pursue has to pass a simple test: does it deliver value and peace of mind to our members and their families? That's the lens I'll bring to this role as we look at where we go next."

PPS Mutual has also promoted senior product actuary for member strategy and engagement manager Avanti Patki as the head of product, reporting to Pilcher.

Patki will lead the development, pricing and ongoing evolution of PPS Mutual's specialist product suite, including its Professionals Choice offering, as well as responsibility for PPS Mutual's member eligibility.

Both appointments take effect from October 1.

"I'm delighted to see Matt and Avanti step into these roles. Matt has helped shape PPS Mutual from the outset, and Avanti has brought wide-ranging expertise to our product work and helped expand the range of professionals we can serve," PPS Mutual chief executive Michael Pillemer said.

"We have always said that being a mutual should shape the decisions we make, not simply describe our ownership structure.

"As we enter our second decade, we have the opportunity to do more for the professionals who have placed their trust in us. I know Matt and Avanti will keep our Members at the centre of what comes next, and I'm excited to see what they achieve with the wider PPS Mutual team."

Speaking with the Institute of Public Affairs, Lowe said there was no reason for the government to run a large budget deficit.

"Now we find ourselves running sizable budget deficits at a time where we're at full employment and commodity prices are very high. We should be running sizable surpluses," Lowe said.

"Government spending has been adding to demand progressively over time, and that's putting upward pressure on inflation."

The comments come after the Final Budget Outcome was released by the government, showing the Budget deficit in 2025-26 was $22.3 billion. As a share of the economy, the deficit was 0.8% of GDP.

Lowe said public policy was no longer focused on "expanding the size of the pie", but rather about the distribution of income and wealth.

Lowe served at the RBA for 43 years, including the last seven as governor, before current RBA chair Michele Bullock took the reins.

Lowe suggested the government should introduce strong fiscal frameworks, for example through a budget balance over the cycle and strong cost-benefit analysis to guide public investment decisions.

Lowe also said there was "too much regulation" and said the government should focus on reducing the regulatory burden on the economy.

He added government economic policy should focus on growing the economy, rather than redistribution, and there needed to be a reduction in the reliance of the tax system on income taxes.

"[Australia taxes] income and wealth generation too highly and consumption too lightly," he said.

Lowe advocated for lower top marginal income tax rates and a higher GST to help lift investment and productivity.

On housing, Lowe said dwelling construction had failed to keep pace with population growth and the government has missed the mark on meeting its housing targets.

"They've fallen woefully short of those targets and no prospect in my view of meeting them, and that's the fundamental problem," he said.

APRA said the reforms are the next phase of its multi-year focus on lifting investment governance standards across the superannuation industry, particularly within the platform trustee segment.

In the consultation paper, APRA said it has "elevated concerns" around the platform segment.

"Platform trustees often oversee large and complex investment menus, rely on adviser and promoter-led distribution, and allow members considerable discretion to concentrate their savings in individual investments," it said.

"These features can make investments harder to oversee, create conflicts that may influence trustee decisions and increase the risk of severe loss where investments perform poorly or fail.

"APRA's supervisory work has found that these heightened risks have not always been matched by sufficiently strong governance practices. Weaknesses include inadequate scrutiny when investments are onboarded, ineffective monitoring and remediation, inconsistent enforcement of investment limits, poor management of conflicts involving third parties, and insufficient capability and resources to oversee complex investment menus."

The proposal would strengthen requirements across eight key areas of risk and build on existing obligations for trustees.

Three new safeguards would require trustees to set and enforce member-level investment limits for higher-risk investments; strengthen the management of investment-related conflicts; and ensure their investment oversight capabilities and resources are commensurate with the size and complexity of their investment menus.

APRA is also proposing five changes to codify and strengthen existing expectations for investment onboarding, monitoring, remediation, valuations and accountability.

APRA said it will also continue to focus its supervisory intensity on platform trustees. As part of this, APRA is considering whether certain trustee remuneration requirements that currently apply to large trustees should be applied to complex trustees of all sizes to appropriately incentivise effective and prudent governance.

APRA deputy chair David Bradbury said sound investment governance and clear trustee accountability is fundamental to protecting members' retirement savings.

"Trustees are ultimately accountable for the investments they make available to members. Investment choice must be supported by consistently strong safeguards, rigorous oversight and timely action when risks emerge. The failures of Shield and First Guardian demonstrate the serious harm that can occur when members accumulate concentrated holdings in poor or unsuitable investment options," Bradbury said.

"Despite extensive supervisory and enforcement activity, material weaknesses in trustees' investment governance practices remain. Policy reform is needed to strengthen trustee accountability and help ensure members' interests remain at the centre of investment decisions."

The investment governance changes would apply to all trustees. However, they are expected to have the greatest impact on platform trustees, given their typically broader investment menus, more complex products and greater reliance on financial advisers and other third parties.

APRA's proposals are aligned with the measures announced by minister for financial services Daniel Mulino on August 19 to strengthen consumer protections and increase the resilience of the superannuation system.

APRA is seeking feedback on the proposed changes, including their effectiveness, proportionality and implementation impacts.

Submissions close on 3 February 2027. The standards are expected to be finalised in the first half of 2027. Subject to consultation, the new framework is expected to commence on 1 January 2028.

Ian Omar Chester pleaded guilty in the Southport District Court on September 29, following an ASIC investigation into around 18 companies used as investment and development vehicles across five Southeast Queensland property projects.

The court heard Chester falsified investor authorities to secure the release of funds, with some money transferred to accounts in his name or used to repay personal debts despite knowing investors had provided the funds for specific purposes.

The projects attracted 190 investors, including people who used their self-managed superannuation fund savings to invest.

ASIC chair Sarah Court said investors had entrusted Chester with millions of dollars for property development, but substantial amounts were diverted from their intended purpose.

"This outcome demonstrates ASIC's commitment to holding directors and company officers accountable for misusing investor funds and ensuring they face serious criminal consequences," Court said.

The court also heard Chester provided an investor with information indicating one project remained on track; despite knowing the land had already been sold to an unrelated party, leading the investor to provide funds.

In sentencing, Judge Prskalo described the offending as "sustained and deliberate dishonesty", having considered 17 victim impact statements.

The judge found investors had suffered "real harm" and noted that using funds to pay creditors of other projects was effectively equivalent to paying oneself.

Chester will be eligible to apply for parole after serving three years of his sentence.

The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following ASIC's investigation.

ASIC obtained Federal Court asset freezing orders against Chester and associated entities in July 2021, before liquidators were appointed to wind up the companies. He was charged with multiple criminal offences in December 2023.

The RBA said the hike was a result of inflation remaining "elevated" and risks flagged previously are now materialising, as well as further disruptions to global oil supply passing through to prices of other goods and services.

The RBA noted the effects of previous interest rate hikes have started to be seen in the economy.

"There are signs that growth in consumer spending is easing gradually as expected, although housing prices have fallen in most capital cities and new housing loans have declined noticeably," the RBA said.

"Labour market conditions have eased broadly as expected in recent months, and labour market leading indicators are broadly stable. Meanwhile, growth in business investment and debt is strong."

The recent interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve and unemployment data also contributed to the announcement. The central bank said it will continue to tame inflation "sustainably" but left the door open for more potential hikes.

"The board will continue to do what it considers necessary to bring inflation sustainably back to target, including increasing the cash rate target further if needed," the RBA said.

"Accordingly, the board will be attentive to the data and the evolving assessment of the outlook and risks to guide its decisions. Monetary policy is well placed to respond to developments, and the board is focused on its mandate to deliver price stability and full employment."

Additionally, the RBA also signified the heightened investment into artificial intelligence (AI) as a driver to "rapid growth" in global prices for technology-related goods, while pressure remains for domestic capacity with most businesses experiencing cost pressures "are either increasing the prices of their goods and services or looking to do so."

Commenting, J.P. Morgan Asset Management global market strategist Kerry Craig said the RBA has "struck a distinctly hawkish tone" with the move.

"Back in August, the RBA made clear that persistent inflation would be the trigger for higher rates, and July's CPI release crossed that line. Now, the RBA maintains a tightening bias, noting further hikes are possible 'if needed', but is less explicit about what would prompt another increase," Craig said.

"Notably, the September statement dropped the reference to policy being 'somewhat restrictive', signalling a willingness to let the economy endure a period of 'subdued' economic activity to ease capacity pressures and prevent inflation from becoming entrenched."

He noted despite the move, market reaction was relatively muted.

"For now, the burden of proof is on incoming data, especially near-term inflation expectations, to provide relief and show that the RBA's fear of embedded inflation expectations will materialise. Without softer numbers, another rate hike in November remains firmly on the table," he added.

Meanwhile, State Streets Markets head of Asia Pacific macro strategy Dwyfor Evans said the hike means consumers will continue to face cost-of-living pressures, negative real wage growth, and a softer labour market.

"RBA comments were largely centred on global energy prices, their rise compared to August assumptions and inflation pass-through. The unanimous decision to hike and comments around elevated inflation will further pressure rates to the upside ahead the early November meeting, particularly if energy prices remain high," Evans said.

PIMCO managing director and head of Australia portfolio management Adam Bowe added: "While the bank has kept the door open to further tightening, we expect that the trade off between growth and inflation will become more challenging from here. Slowing growth momentum, a rising unemployment rate, and a weakening housing market suggest a cautious approach to policy into year end."

"Market pricing continues to imply a higher terminal policy rate and a longer period of restrictiveness than our central scenario. With economic cracks emerging, a moderating fiscal impulse, and strong demand for Australian dollar denominated bonds, we view Australian duration as attractive at current levels."

The Rich Decisions research found 84% of HNW investors receiving ongoing advice are happy with their investments, compared with 64% of those without an adviser. Those receiving one-off advice recorded a 70% satisfaction rate.

Trust appears to underpin the relationship, with financial advisers and wealth managers the most trusted financial professionals among HNW investors. Some 65% reported a high level of trust in the profession, while 83% of advised investors expressed high trust in their adviser's profession competency.

Praemium chief commercial officer Denis Orrock said advice provided value beyond selecting investments or constructing portfolios.

"HNW investors are financially knowledgeable and closely involved in their wealth -they're not looking to hand over every decision," Orrock said.

"What they value is an adviser they trust, who understands their circumstances and gives them greater confidence in the choices they make."

Personalisation was the leading must-have for advised investors, nominated by 39%, followed by a clearly justified investment strategy at 34%.

Fees ranked lower, with just 14% identifying competitive fees as essential, suggesting HNW clients place greater emphasis on the relevance and quality of their advice experience.

Tax and estate planning was the most common reason for engaging an adviser, cited by 53% of investors, followed by peace of mind at 47%, access to expertise at 46% and an objective perspective at 43%.

CoreData chief executive Andrew Inwood said the findings show HNW investors were not seeking to surrender control of their finances.

"What stands out is that these investors aren't outsourcing confidence, they're supplementing it," Inwood said.

Communication remained the weakest area of satisfaction, despite 84% of advised investors being satisfied, with clients most seeking additional support around tax planning, portfolio reviews, SMSF and superannuation strategy, and preparing the next generation for inheritance.

The findings follow earlier research showing HNW investors are increasingly using AI for financial tasks but largely continued to favour human advice, with 86% expecting the adviser client relationship to remain important in an AI-enabled future.

The regulator has published sector-specific supervisory letters covering banking, superannuation, general and life insurance, and financial markets, providing firms with greater visibility of its planned activities.

"ASIC is actively working to increase transparency, reduce unnecessary duplication and make regulatory processes easier to navigate while maintaining the quality and integrity of regulatory outcomes," ASIC chair Sarah Court said. For superannuation, ASIC will continue its multi-year review of member services while commencing new work examining trustee oversight of advice fee deductions and retirement.

In financial markets, the regulator will focus on market integrity and responsible innovation alongside efforts to support capital mobility, competitiveness and resilient market infrastructure.

The banking sector will face a review of AI use in customer-facing activities, alongside scrutiny of incentives, referrer arrangements and broker oversight.

ASIC will also examine practices among for-profit claims management firms in general insurance, including those commonly known as "disaster chasers", while its life insurance work will include funeral insurance and ongoing service issues.

Court said the supervisory letters formed part of a broader Council of Financial Regulators initiative, jointly led by ASIC and APRA, to improve regulatory coordination and data sharing.

"We have a clear mandate from government to support growth and productivity and a responsibility to ensure our actions strengthen the economy and do not unnecessarily slow it," she said.

The letters are part of the Council of Financial Regulators' Better Regulation Roadmap, which aims to give industry greater visibility of upcoming regulatory work and reduce overlap between agencies.

ASIC encouraged boards and executives to consider the priorities when planning resources and determining areas requiring greater attention.

Richard Johnson will relocate to Melbourne from Zurich to take on the role of head of UGA specialists Australia, after serving as private markets specialist in Europe for close to three years.

Johnson will report to UGA regional head Asia Pacific Gunther Jost, with an additional reporting line to head UGA asset management alternative investment specialists ex-US Nicki-Marco Weber.

Richard has over 25 years of experience across Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. Before joining UBS, he spent seven years at Credit Suisse in a similar capacity looking after the company's private equity portfolio.

He also held C-suite roles in the past, including chief investment officer at IFIT Advisory Group, and Infinity Capital between 2003 and 2011.

Earlier in his career, he worked across several established financial institutions, including ABN AMRO Asia, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Nomura Securities.

"Richard will help to drive UGA's distribution efforts working closely with Wayne Gordon, head of advisory and sales global wealth management Australia. With this move, I am confident that we will be better positioned to provide our local global wealth management and asset management clients with dedicated alternatives expertise and build stronger connections to UGA's global platform," UBS head of distribution ex-US Lukas Erard said.

"We look forward to the contribution he will make to our clients and excited at the potential to the growth of our Australian franchise."

UGA operates open architecture platforms across hedge funds, private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and multi-alternative investment products, and brings together UBS' alternatives manager selection franchises from its asset management and global wealth management businesses, boasting a collective invested assets of approximately $524 billion (US$366bn) as at June 30.

David Ravida, Tom Peskett, Hannah Waller, and Gaurav Vasnani have all been promoted to directors.

Ravida joined HLB Mann Judd in 2016 from Shadforth Financial Group and has been part of the business advisory team in Melbourne, working closely with professional services firms, family businesses and their associated family groups, providing trusted advice on taxation, business and group restructures, asset protection, succession planning and estate administration.

Peskett is part of Melbourne's tax consulting department and specialises in providing strategic tax advice to privately owned businesses, entrepreneurs and investors across all stages of the business lifecycle. He has extensive experience across corporate tax, mergers and acquisitions, employee share schemes and international tax. He joined the business in 2021.

Waller joined HLB Mann Judd as a financial adviser in 2023 and has over 19 years' experience within financial planning, super, and agriculture. She is stationed within Adeliade's wealth management team and assists clients with wealth creation, risk protection, retirement planning, debt management, SMSFs, and intergenerational wealth transfer strategies.

Lastly, Vasnani joined HLB Mann Judd after a year with EY. He brings extensive experience across corporate tax advisory and compliance, M&A transactions, tax governance and tax function transformation. He also worked in similar capacity at BDO, KONE, Deloitte and Tellam & Cassaday in the past.

HLB Mann Judd Association chair Mark Muller said the promotions highlight the calibre of talent across the organisation.

"Our people are central to the success of HLB Mann Judd. These promotions recognise four professionals who have demonstrated technical excellence, a strong commitment to their clients and the ability to contribute to the continued growth of their firms," he said.

"The promotions add to the depth of leadership across HLB Mann Judd's independent member firms, supporting the association's focus on technical capability, client service and sustainable growth."

The HLB Mann Judd network now comprises nine independent member firms located in major cities and regional business centres in Australia and New Zealand.

Researchers from the Australian National University found that mountain ash also possesses the  world's highest biomass carbon density. This is something worth boasting about because it means more of this gas is contained in the plants and locks in greenhouse gases (GHG) that would otherwise infiltrate the atmosphere.

The researchers, though, urge that as a national priority, mountain ash's ability to maintain and increase its carbon storage capacity should be protected as they are at grave risk of collapse within half a century. Industrial logging is the  mountain ash's major source of destruction, particularly from clearfell harvesting, in which most of the plants are  cut down in one fell swoop.

Brendan Wintle, the lead councillor of the Biodiversity Council, describes these as the "lungs" and source of freshwater generation for the city of Melbourne.

What we're now seeing is that because of changing climate conditions and historical forest management practices, these ecosystems are burning more frequently.

"What happens when a mountain ash stand burns inside for 20 years is that the trees haven't grown old enough to reach sexual maturity, to set seed and create the next generation of alpine or mountain ash trees," he explained at the recent Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) Conference.

"We have too many fires in this landscape, we see a slip from an amazing mountain ash forest to essentially an acacia-dominated woodland that cannot store anything like the carbon that tends to burn really fast. This is a dramatic ecosystem change."

Australia also takes the crown as the country with the highest rate of biodiversity decline of any developed nation, according to the Threatened Species Index.

A 2021 government study also found Australia has lost more mammal species than any other continent and continues to have one of the highest rates of species decline among countries in OECD nations. At the time, more than 1900 native species and ecological communities were reported to be threatened or at risk of extinction.

Fast forward to 2026 and many of Australia's ecosystems are in clear and present danger.

What does ecosystem collapse mean? Wintle explains that it means the loss of the ecological functions and species that form the fabric of those ecosystems.

"Australia has an extraordinary environmental [and] remarkable legacy. Nature is an important part of our national identity, which is why its decline is such a significant challenge," he says.

Another challenge is trying to define the type of risk that has befallen Australia. Is it nature-related risk or climate-related risk? Or perhaps a bit of both?

Climate risk is defined as the potential for climate hazards to cause harmful consequences to human lives, economic and ecological systems, as well as social and cultural assets and investments, such as bushfires, droughts or floods.

"Fundamentally, nature risk is the risk associated with the loss of biodiversity, deforestation, the availability or non-availability of water, and all of those risks that are related to nature," the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) chief executive Louise Davidson explains.

"Like climate change, nature or biodiversity risk is something investors can't diversify away from. It's so pervasive across the whole economy, and we're so dependent on nature for so many parts of our lives, whether it's food, health, productivity and so on. So, it has the potential to have a really wide-reaching impact on companies and investors."

When nature underpins the very basis of humanity, Davidson stresses that investors must be cognisant of its endemic and non-diversifiable or systematic risk.

While investors have yet  to diversify from nature risks by, say, moving to Mars, the next-best option is to choose not to invest in particular sectors based on an ethical approach, whether that's fossil fuel exclusions or controversial weapons exclusions.

"You can't really have a nature-risk exclusion. Yet, nature risk has so many impacts on companies in different ways," Davidson says.

An analysis of top ASX-listed companies in the Biodiversity Council's 2026 report, Cracking the code, reveals that nature risk is highly concentrated among select industries.

Utilities, energy, materials, industrials and consumer staples pose the greatest risk to biodiversity loss, highlighting growing financial and operational risks for investors and companies alike. Greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and land use pressures were identified as the primary drivers.

While utilities recorded the highest median biodiversity impact, the sector contains relatively few ASX200 companies, all of which showed consistently high impacts across assessment methodologies.

However, six of the 10 companies with the largest nature-related impacts were found in the materials sector, reflecting the significant influence of large-scale mining and resources businesses on Australia's environmental footprint.

In the economic world, mining is as synonymous with Australia as Vegemite and kangaroos are with its national identity.

According to the government's Office of the Chief Economist, the resources and energy sectors contributed around 11.4% of the nation's GDP in the 2025 financial year, making them the top exports by a large margin.

The mining industry is also one of the top contributors to the workforce, employing 241,000 people in FY25, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates.

While the country depends on the mining and resources sectors to provide jobs and top up its coffers with billions in revenue, a dark economic underbelly exists: the environmental impacts can be devastating, leading to deforestation and the loss of wildlife habitats and degraded biodiversity.  Even when operations shutter or mines are decommissioned, they cause lingering environmental damage via toxic metals and soil contaminants entering water systems.

Commenting on the findings, Wintle says it comes as no surprise that the major mining and energy companies rank among those with the largest direct impacts on nature, including water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, land disturbance and land clearing.

Beyond the direct impact, consumer staples in the form of major retailers and financial institutions emerge as having substantial impacts because of their supply chains and downstream influence.

"Retailers, for example, influence waste generation and supply chain practices.  Financial institutions influence outcomes through the businesses they finance and lend to," he says.

"It's a very important shift in perspective. What we're seeing is a substantial difference between direct impacts and indirect impacts, and it's something we need to take very seriously."

Data digestion

The reality is that nature is complex and multifaceted. Measuring nature-related risks is tall order even when grasping the concept itself has been challenging. Geospatial tools are a credible contender in helping bridge that gap.

Josh Gilbert, the head of geospatial strategy at ISS STOXX, says geospatial analytics can help thanks to the abundance of data generated over the last decade from a range of sources, not just in the form of satellite data and Earth observation, but also sensors, corporate disclosures and other channels.

"I think the foundational problem remains the same. We don't have a data-starvation problem. We have a data-digestion problem," he told the recent Greener Way Podcast.

For investors in this age of data abundance, the challenge is asking, 'How do we take all these different pieces of information and put them together?'

"First, it's about unpacking a very complex puzzle. Second, and perhaps more importantly for investors, it's about taking data that is geospatial or spatio-temporal in nature, meaning data across space and time, and translating it into the world of financial information," he says.

This article is featured in Financial Standard's fortnightly newspaper Volume 24 Number 18. To keep reading click here. To subscribe, sign up here.

Nicole Kennedy has been promoted to managing director, APAC, based in Melbourne, while former AustralianSuper chief retirement officer Shawn Blackmore has joined the company in a newly created position.

In her new role, Kennedy will lead Bravura's regional business, bringing together its capabilities and leadership teams to drive collaboration, deepen client relationships, and support growth across the region, Bravura said.

Kennedy joined the company as head of Sonata Alta - Bravura's consolidation and digital platform for intuitional users - in 2021 and has been instrumental in strengthening Bravura's business in the region, it said. She has since been promoted into several leadership positions, including head of service management, APAC executive of operations and advice, and more recently, managing director for wealth and advice since July 2025.

Prior to joining Bravura, she was head of operational delivery at CareSuper for almost five years, and spent well over a decade at VicSuper, now Aware Super, in senior capacities.

"Her client focus, commitment to excellence, strong leadership and operational expertise have helped guide the organisation through a significant period of change while building the foundations for future growth," Bravura said.

"This appointment reflects Nicole's outstanding contribution to Bravura over the past five years, the depth of talent within the business, and our ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional outcomes for our clients."

Meanwhile, Blackmore has commenced as director of growth, APAC, bringing more than 25 years' experience in financial services, spanning super, fintech, private wealth and consulting. He was the chief retirement officer at AustralianSuper between 2022 and 2024. More recently he was a partner at The Thinkery, a boutique strategic advisory firm working with financial services professionals.

Bravura noted Blackmore joins the company at an exciting time.

"As we continue to build on the strong progress across our business. His appointment reflects our confidence in our growth trajectory and our commitment to investing in opportunities that support our clients and long-term success," the company said.

"His deep industry expertise and experience across Australia's leading financial services organisations will strengthen our client engagement, strategic direction and market presence across the APAC region."

The appointments come after Bravura received a $100 million senior secured facility from HSBC to support its ongoing global expansion.

The lending enables Bravura to pursue investment in the business and create greater capacity for innovation, HSBC said.

HSBC Australia and New Zealand structured lending solutions director Ranga Ediriwickrama said the transaction reflects Australian businesses are continuing to look for opportunities to scale globally.

"This flexible financing will support Bravura Solutions' international growth ambitions whilst supporting the evolving needs of its customers," he said.

Bravura Solutions interim chief financial officer noted the facility arrived at an "intense period" for the company.

"Proud to have played a key role in securing our new HSBC debt facility, delivered alongside the significant demands of FY26 year-end and our AIM admission process," she said.

"A big thank you to the incredible teams and everyone involved for their commitment and hard work in getting this over the line - a fantastic team effort."

Woodbridge Capital head of investments Matthew Samuels said the deal shows the private credit manager's continued appetite to fund quality residential projects.

"We continue to actively lend, but the discipline behind our decisions hasn't changed. We are looking for well-located commercial real estate, experienced borrowers, sound project fundamentals and, importantly, a clear path to repayment," Samuels said.

"This project brings those elements together. It is a substantial residential apartment development close to the centre of one of Australia's fastest-growing capital cities, and a $100 million-plus facility demonstrates our ability to provide borrowers with certainty on larger and more complex construction projects."

The Property Council has estimated that around 8000 attached dwellings need to be delivered annually in Brisbane through to 2031 under the South East Queensland Regional Plan, while current forecasts point to materially lower levels of apartment delivery.

"Private credit has an important role to play in getting viable apartment projects out of the pipeline and into construction, particularly in an environment where development feasibility and access to capital remain challenging," Samuels said.

Woodbridge Capital state director for Brisbane said the transaction reflected both the scale of opportunities emerging in Brisbane and the importance of having lending expertise on the ground.

"Brisbane has very strong long-term fundamentals, but bringing new apartment projects to construction remains challenging. Construction costs, feasibility and access to capital are all influencing which projects ultimately proceed," Griffiths said.

"That makes disciplined project selection particularly important. For us, it is not simply about growth or deploying capital - it is about backing experienced borrowers and projects in locations where we can see genuine underlying demand and strong fundamentals.

"Having a team on the ground means we can understand those dynamics at a project level and work closely with borrowers to structure funding that gives quality developments the certainty to move forward."

As a share of the economy, the deficit was 0.8% of GDP.

"The Final Budget Outcome shows the 2025-26 deficit is billions of dollars better than forecast in the Budget," Chalmers said.

"We made a lot of progress in the Budget and we've continued to make even more progress since then. This multi-billion-dollar improvement has been delivered despite months of more severe global volatility."

Chalmers said the outcome has proven the government's responsible economic management, which was recently reaffirmed by Australia keeping it's AAA credit ratings, he said.

"We have one of the strongest budgets in the G20 and much lower gross debt than every major advanced economy," Chalmers said.

"The FBO result is better than expected at Budget because of lower-than-expected payments and an improved outcome for receipts."

Payments were $1.4 billion lower in 2025-26 than estimated at Budget. Tax receipts were $4.6 billion above the Budget forecast, driven by higher-than-expected collections from stronger super fund and investment income.

"We have limited real spending growth, delivered substantial savings and reprioritisations, and returned around 75% of all tax receipt upgrades to the bottom line, compared to our predecessors who only returned around 40%," Chalmers said.

"Our predecessors had bigger deficits and more debt. They would have kept deficits well above 1% of GDP well into the 2030s. All four of the Budget outcomes delivered under this government have been much stronger than that."

Chalmers said while the FBO delivered "substantial improvement" he acknowledged harsh economic conditions continue to weigh on Australian households.

"While we've delivered a substantial budget improvement, we recognise that structural pressures are intensifying rather than easing and we're taking decisive action to address some of the biggest spending pressures on the Budget," he said.

"The government is focused on building a more productive and resilient economy and managing global uncertainty, and a big part of that is our responsible management of the Budget."

Under the MoU, the two companies will explore connecting AUDD and IDRX through an on-chain settlement corridor, which could allow the currency transactions to settle directly without relying on the US dollar as an intermediary currency.

The initiative will explore how AUDD and IDRX could support export-import settlement, business payments and other cross-border transactions between Australia and Indonesia.

AUDC chief executive Effie Dimitropoulos said the partnership reflects the growing need for modern payment infrastructure between two of the region's most connected economies.

"Australia and Indonesia share a deeply connected economic relationship. From trade and tourism to growing business links, money moves between our countries every day. Yet much of that activity still relies on legacy payment infrastructure that adds cost, complexity and delays," Dimitropoulos said.

"This partnership is about exploring how regulated stablecoin infrastructure can simplify cross-border transactions between Australian dollars and Indonesian rupiah, creating a more direct, efficient and accessible payment corridor between our markets.

"As stablecoins become part of mainstream financial infrastructure, we're focused on building practical, real-world payment rails that support trade, commerce and economic connectivity across our region."

IDRX chief executive Nathanael Christian said the collaboration demonstrates the potential for local currency stablecoins to improve regional payment networks.

"By connecting IDRX and AUDD directly, we can explore new ways to facilitate efficient cross-border value transfer between Indonesia and Australia while supporting the future of digital financial infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region," Christian said.

The Dialogue Paper, Bridging the Longevity Divide, found an 11.5-year difference in life expectancy at age 60 between men in the most and least advantaged socioeconomic profiles examined. For women, the gap was 9.1 years.

The analysis used linked, de-identified microdata from the Australian Bureau of Statistics' Person Level Integrated Data Asset, examining Australian's aged 60 to 100 based on mortality rates observed in 2016-17.

The research combined factors including income, marital status, home ownership and area-level socioeconomic advantage to examine how longevity varies across different population groups.

Paper co-author and UNSW Business School associate professor Fei Huang said the scale of the differences was notable.

"Our analysis shows that life expectancy can differ significantly when we consider the combination of people's circumstances," Huang said.

"For example, single, lower-income non-homeowners in disadvantaged areas had considerably shorter life expectancies than married, higher-income homeowners in more advantaged areas."

The findings have implications for the design of retirement income products, particularly lifetime income streams, where assumptions about how long retirees will live influence both pricing and the level of income available.

Azuria Partners actuarial consultant Phillip Clark said applying a uniform life expectancy assumption could overlook significant differences in retirement needs.

"How much someone can comfortably draw down from their superannuation depends in part on how long they can expect to live," Clark said.

The paper notes existing annuity pricing is generally based on relatively advantaged pool of purchases, which could affect the value such products offer to less advantaged Australians.

The authors have called on trustees, providers, regulators and advisers to consider how the findings could inform retirement income strategies, product design and pricing, while also improving Australians' understanding of longevity risk.

The Retirement Income Optimiser is available through CFS's FirstChoice platform and is designed to work alongside a planned CFS lifetime pension offering, which is expected to be introduced in 2027.

The feature operates while members are building their super and does not require changes to their existing investments, fees, insurance, account features or contribution strategies.

Under current rules, when Retirement Income Optimiser is active, Centrelink can assess a calculated balance based on deemed investment earnings rather than the member's actual balance and returns. CFS said the calculated balance may be lower, potentially increasing Age Pension entitlements once an eligible CFS lifetime pension begins, depending on individual circumstances.

The potential impact may also increase the longer the feature remains active.

CFS superannuation chief executive Kelly Power said retirement income planning should begin before members enter retirement.

"One of the biggest concerns Australians have is whether their savings will last throughout retirement. Retirement Income Optimiser gives eligible members a way to prepare for future lifetime income options while retaining flexibility over their super today," Power said.

Eligible FirstChoice Wholesale Personal Super members will have the feature switched on automatically, with the option to opt out at any time, while eligible FirstChoice Employer Super members can choose to opt in.

For advisers, CFS said the feature provides an opportunity to begin retirement income discussions earlier and consider accumulation, future income needs and Age Pension outcomes altogether.

"Retirement is not a single decision made at one point in time. By giving members more options before they retire, we can help them approach those decisions with greater confidence and support advisers in delivering advice that reflects each client's circumstances," Power said.

Retirement Income Optimiser forms part of CFS's broader retirement strategy, following the introduction of CFS Pension Bonus in August ahead of further retirement income solutions planned for 2027.

This is Merchant's largest investment outside the US market, joining Ironbark's long-term investor ASX-listed Soul Patts.

Ironbark Financial chief executive Justin Greiner said the investment gives the wealth firm the capital to execute its Australian growth strategy, create liquidity for shareholders and actively pursue a pipeline of acquisitions.

"This partnership is a powerful endorsement of our business and our people. It gives us the long-term strategic backing to meet our ambition to become Australia's trusted financial partner," Ironbark Financial managing director and executive chair Chris Larsen said.

"Merchant's credentials as a long-term, patient investor with global expertise make it an ideal partner for Ironbark. Importantly, we have a strong cultural and strategic alignment, underpinned by a shared long-term outlook, partnership mindset and commitment to supporting founder-led businesses.

"We wanted a shareholder with the desire to collaborate with entrepreneurial founder-led firms, similar to our long-standing relationship with Soul Patts."

Ironbark recently consolidated 15 businesses under a new single brand, Ironbark Financial Group. The parent company operates sub-brands including Ironbark Advice, Ironbark Private Wealth and Ironbark Investment Solutions.

Merchant Wealth Partners executive chair Marc Spilker said: "We partner with exceptional businesses and management teams where we believe our capital, capabilities and global network can help support their long-term ambitions.

"Ironbark has built a differentiated financial services platform of significant scale, with an outstanding leadership team and a clear vision for the future. We look forward to working alongside Chris and the leadership team to build on that foundation and support the next stage of the firm's growth."

Soul Patts also welcomed the addition of Merchant to the business and said it will work alongside Ironbark and Merchant to achieve the firm's strategic goals.

"For close to a decade Soul Patts has supported Ironbark's evolution, and we welcome Merchant joining the business," Soul Patts managing director of principal investments David Scammell said.

"Merchant's ecosystem gives Ironbark access to deeper expertise that will broaden its client offering. Soul Patts remains a committed, long-term partner as Ironbark enters its next stage of growth."

Financial Standard understands Berkshire Global advised Ironbark on the deal.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Nigel Crampton has joined as head of sales and relationships, managed funds services, bringing more than 20 years of financial services experience to the role.

Crampton co-founded Zerity, a Sydney-based solutions provider for wealth management, super and retirement, and financial advice, in 2021, and served as chief commercial officer of the business since inception until he joined Perpetual this month.

Before that, Crampton led the managed accounts and distribution divisions at Milliman Australia and distribution and client services at Atrium Investment Management. He was also the head of sales at Morningstar between 2011 and 2016.

He began his career at Macquarie Group in 1998 as a business development executive and has been heavily involved with Macquarie's business development over his 13-year stint at the company.

"Crampton brings more than 20 years of financial services experience across investment platforms, managed accounts, superannuation and funds management along with a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing investment managers today," Perpetual Corporate Trust said.

"Nigel's appointment reflects our continued investment in delivering exceptional service and strategic support to investment managers.

"His industry experience and market perspective will further strengthen the expertise we bring to our clients and partners. We're excited to welcome Nigel to the team and look forward to the contribution he will make across our managed fund Services business."

Perpetual recently folded Swedish giant EQT's best and final takeover bid after the board deemed the offer "undervalues" the company and is not in the best interests of its shareholders.

Additionally, Perpetual's former chief investment officer Kyle Lidbury has this month joined Pacific Portfolio Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Pinnacle Investment Management, to lead its Australia-based investment team and the launch of new managed accounts offerings.

RE Services believes there are "material differences" between the financial information in the preliminary final report and the financial information contained in the final report for the said strategies.

It released a preliminary final report in respect of the funds on 31 August 2026, which disclosed unaudited financial information for the financial year ending 30 June 2026 to the ASX. It is now stating the amounts shown in the preliminary final report may differ materially from the final report.

The preliminary final report was prepared taking into account information provided by the funds' manager Metrics Credit Partners.

As a result, the responsible entity has acted in its capacity to request an immediate voluntary, temporary suspension of quotation and trading, as a "prudent measure" in accordance with the potential discrepancies.

The final report will be finalised on September 30.

RE Services said the suspension will likely remain in place until the release of the final report and believes the voluntary suspension should be granted.

Pinnacle Investment Management swiftly provided an announcement, stating that it has 35% interest in Metrics Credit Partners, where the business has contributed $12.6 million in earnings for FY26, noting the trading halt, but not commenting on the supposed "material differences".

Meanwhile, investment services provider Ord Minnett said whilst the news of a "material difference" in audited accounts was "disappointing", it emphasised the quantum of the differences for the income statement is not yet known.

It also noted Metrics has since provided more details on the differences. On the expected net tangible asset (NTA) revisions, MXT is expected to be ~2% lower, MOT ~10.1% lower and MRE ~12.1% lower.

"The revisions to the NTA are more modest than perhaps we had feared upon first reading," Ord Minnett said.

"In the context of PNI, the relative contribution of Metrics Capital Partners is important - it contributed less than 9% of group earnings in FY26 (adjusted for the new ownership level of 35%). Given the scale of the sell-off in PNI over the last month, the reaction appears to be outsized, in our view.

"In terms of impact to earnings forecasts for FY27 onwards, it's difficult to assess at this point what that might be..."

The announcement follows a volatile period for the Australian private credit sector following the Bathla Group's collapse last month, which saw several private credit fund managers that had exposure in the company freezing redemptions and raising funds in an attempt to complete unfinished projects.

HMC Capital has announced Graeme Browning to the board as an independent non-executive director, effective immediately.

HMC said Browning has more than 36 years' experience across financial, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and senior executive leadership.

Browning held various roles at Earnst & Young (EY) since 2009 across Australia and the UK, with the most recent being partner.

Over his tenure he advised on more than 20 public offerings and secondary capital raisings.

"We are pleased to welcome Graeme to the HMC Capital board. Graeme is a highly credentialed leader who brings extensive experience across transactions, capital markets, financial and governance, complementing this existing skills and experience of the board," HMC Capital chair Chris Saxon said.

"We look forward to his contribution as HMC continues to execute on its growth strategy."

In June this year HMC Capital won two global institutional mandates of $1.35 billion for its private credit strategy in Australian commercial real estate (CRE) lending.

The ASX-listed alternatives asset manager said it had already received $375 million of seed assets, at the time of the announcement.

On full deployment, HMC's private credit strategy's assets under management is expected to rise to $3.3 billion and will provide dry powder of $1 billion for investment in FY27, it said.

HMC also partnered with global private equity firm KKR to receive $603 million for the HMC Energy Transition Platform. The partnership received a good to go by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in June.

The commitment will last seven years and is expected to generate a 14% annual return. It will be split via a preferred equity investment in HMC's Energy Transition Platform comprising an initial $355 million tranche at financial close.

The FSU's analysis of PPL uptake found men are now taking PPL at similar or higher rates than women in some parts of the finance sector, thanks to improvements in union negotiated enterprise agreements.

FSU said universal PPL gives both parents equal access to parental leave regardless of their caring role, and offers full wage replacement and other supports when one parent is off work.

The report documented the evolution of PPL in the Australian finance sector and examined how various employers have increased male participation in parental leave by developing a workplace culture that actively encourages fathers to take more time off work to look after their children.

For example, CBUS Super began its universal PPL policy in 2021 and men now make up the majority of workers taking parental leave, despite the workforce being broadly gender balanced.

Similarly, in 2022 before NAB introduced its universal PPL scheme, men made up just 6% of its primary parental leave users. By 2025, that figured had soared to 49%.

The research found the increasing number of fathers taking parental leave leads to more equal workplaces and reduces gender discrimination.

The FSU said the government's own gender equality strategy identifies that a more balanced use of PPL is an important measure of progress towards gender equality.

"Paid parental leave should belong to the parent, not the gender. We are seeing progress when it comes to challenging the stereotypical family dynamic where men are expected to undertake paid work while women are expected to perform unpaid domestic and caring work, but there is still a long way to go," FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said.

"Today, a quiet revolution is taking place in Australian workplaces when it comes to paid parental leave - and the finance sector is leading the way."

Angrisano said societal expectations, workplace culture and financial pressures remain the biggest barriers to men taking more time off work after becoming fathers, but said when those barriers are addressed and dads are given genuine choice, men are choosing to spend more time raising their children.

"Universal paid parental leave is just one of many ways we can give families genuine choice and better options, and it's great to see parts of the finance sector leading by example," she said.

"The Finance Sector Union is calling on all employers to commit to a simple principle: both parents get the same paid leave, at the same rate, with no "primary carer" hoops to jump through."

The FSU is calling on employers to commit the principle that both parents get the same paid leave, at the same rate, with no "primary carer" hoops to jump through.

Based on survey results of 1000 Australians aged 18 to 65+, the campaign identified common barriers to social connection, including tiredness, cost and distance from home, and aim to encourage Australians to find practical ways to make connection feel more manageable.

Suggestions included sending a 30-second voice note, taking a short walk while catching up with a friend, choosing a low-cost BYO catch-up in the park, or using a spare ticket to attend an AFLW game with someone else.

TAL said the campaign reflects its broader approach to mental health, which is evolving beyond paying claims to include stronger prevention, early support, recovery and care.

"We know more frequent social contact is associated with better overall health, and in particular our mental health. There is no one right way to connect," TAL head of mental health Glenn Baird said.

"For some people, it is a regular walk with a friend. For others, it is a family meal, a community group or a phone call. The best form of connection is the one people can actually keep doing."

Baird said social connection should be considered part of Australian's broader approach to wellbeing.

"Our research shows Australians deeply value their relationships but say the lack the time or resources to connect," Baird said.

"At the same time, most people - more than seven in 10 - are making time for activities that support their mental wellbeing . The opportunity is to bring these things together by treating connection as part of how we look after ourselves."

The campaign comes as insurers face significant strain, with a sharp rise in people unable to work due to illness or injury, particularly mental health conditions.

Research commissioned by the Council of Australian Life Insurers (CALI) in May found around 8.5 million Australians accessed some form of income support in the past year, totalling $78.9 billion in payments.

Mental ill health was a key driver of the increase. It accounts for roughly one in three total and permanent disability claims and one in five income protection claims, placing sustained pressure on insurers and government programs.

Latest figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed household wealth increased by 1% to a record $19.39 trillion in the June quarter. Superannuation reserves rose by $231 billion, and shares and other equity increased by $36 billion, while the value of land and dwellings fell by $28.7 billion.

ABS said the fall in residential land and dwellings was driven by lower property prices. Household borrowing grew 2.2%, or $73.4 billion, reducing the overall growth in household wealth by 0.4 percentage points.

Global X senior ETF strategist Marc Jocum said the ABS data should not be interpreted as evidence that property was a poor investment or that one quarter represented a permanent change in the way Australians create wealth.

"The latest figures are a powerful reminder that wealth creation is a multi-asset game. Property, shares and superannuation all play different roles, and understanding how they work together is becoming increasingly important for Australian investors," he said.

"That's why investment knowledge matters. Australians need to understand the role different assets play, how concentration can increase risk and why diversification is essential to a long-term strategy."

Jocum added Australians can no longer afford to remain disengaged from the markets shaping their wealth, as the composition of household wealth may be changing.

"For decades, Australia's default wealth strategy has been relatively simple: buy the right property in the right suburb and hold it for the long term," Jocum said.

"Property will remain an important part of wealth creation, but it cannot be our entire strategy. The latest ABS figures show household wealth increased by more than $200 billion even as land and dwelling values declined, with superannuation and equity markets doing the heavy lifting."

With borrowing costs elevated, and an interest rate hike from the RBA expected this week, Aussie households will be feeling the pressure, he added.

"As a nation we really need to raise our understanding of diversification, risk and investment options, because whether we like it or not, our financial futures will be shaped by assets well beyond the monopoly board," Jocum said.

CommSec chief operating officer Stephen Norton has joined SIAA's board of directors, while Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management Australia head of advisers Chris Webster has been re-appointed.

Norton has more than 25 years' experience across stockbroking, capital markets, investment management, institutional banking and wealth management.

Prior to CommSec, he held senior roles with Instinet, UBS Private Bank and HSBC Investment Management and has extensive experience leading regulatory, compliance and technology transformation initiatives.

The appointments fill vacancies created after Michelle Inns departed her role as chief operating officer and executive director at LGT, and Liam Madden departed from his role as managing director and general counsel at Instinet, with both subsequently stepping down from the SIAA board.

SIAA chief executive Maria Lykouras said the appointments strengthen its stockbroking, wealth management, governance, risk and regulatory aspects.

"Stephen and Chris' appointments strengthen the diversity of experience represented on the board." Lykouras said

"They have both built distinguished careers across the financial services industry and will help ensure SIAA continues to benefit from the insights of senior industry practitioners as we continue to advocate for our members."

SIAA chair Hamish Dee is looking forward to benefiting from the appointees' extensive industry expertise, he said.

"Both bring valuable insights and perspective, adding to the strong mix of industry, leadership and governance experience across the Board, and we look forward to their contribution," Dee said.

Dee also thanked Inns and Madden for their services.

"Michelle was a strong advocate for greater diversity across our profession and was instrumental in driving initiatives focused on improving gender balance, while Liam's legal expertise and governance experience were invaluable to the board," Dee added.

"On behalf of SIAA and our members, we thank them both for their commitment and service."

Evans, also known as Richard Evertz, was sentenced to one-year-and-nine-months imprisonment, to be served by way of an intensive correction order (ICO), with 400 hours of community service.

Evans was the former chief executive of the collapsed ASX-listed technology firm and was convicted for communicating inside information to another person after he pleaded guilty to the charge on April 10.

Evans admitted to sharing sensitive inside information about a funding arrangement and customer onboarding with a shareholder in January 2017.

The inside information concerned the number of customers who had been onboarded to purchase Big Un's promotional 'TV Show' package at a cost of $12,000, together with a $20 million funding arrangement with 'Finstro', a product of Sydney-based First Class Capital, which allowed customers to make the purchase on deferred payment terms, ASIC said.

Evans first appeared via his lawyer in the Downing Centre Local Court on 14 February 2023 when he was initially charged, and as a consequence of his conviction, he is automatically disqualified from managing corporations for five years.

Big Un was delisted from the ASX in 2018 and is now in liquidation.

The matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) following a referral from ASIC.

ASIC previously took action against four additional people associated with Big Un, including its former chief financial officer Andrew Corner, who was charged with insider trading but the charges were discontinued by the CDPP earlier this year.

Michael Ming Jinn Ho, a former investment analyst of Maple Brown Abbott, was sentenced after he was convicted on five counts of insider trading and one count of communicating inside information about Big Un between 2016 and 2018.

Auditors for Big Un Graham Rothesay Swan and Jakin Leong Loke were also disciplined and suspended for failing to conduct audits of Big Un in compliance with auditing standards.

Communicating inside information is an offence under section 1043A(2) of the Corporations Act 2001 and carries the maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment and/or a fine of 4500 penalty units at the time of the offending.

Additionally, if the court could determine the total value of the benefits that had been obtained by one or more persons and were reasonably attributable to the commission of the offence, the penalty would be three times that total value.

The maximum penalty increased in March 2019 to 15 years imprisonment.

The three portfolios will be available to a small group of early access users today, with a broader rollout in the coming weeks.

Selfwealth is a subsidiary of Singaporean digital wealth manager Syfe Group's holding company Svava, which acquired the platform last year after winning a bidding war against Bell Financial Group.

The portfolios are developed and managed by Syfe's global investment team.

Through the managed portfolios, investors will have access to cash and income strategies. The strategies include Cash+, Income+Defensive and Income+Enhance. Selfwealth plans to expand the range to additional asset classes, including equity and growth-focused strategies, over time.

Selfwealth head of Australia Samantha Horton said the launch will mark the next chapter for the business following its acquisition in 2025.

"While advice has effectively doubled in price, the pool of people receiving it has shrunk as a share of the population," Horton said.

"The result is that Australians are being forced to choose between doing everything themselves or paying for high cost, traditional wealth management. We don't think they should have to make that trade-off."

After acquiring Selfwealth last year, Syfe raised more than $80 million to fund its Australian expansion and focus on the mass affluent market.

The bulk of the capital was deployed towards Selfwealth to build a local team and develop new affordable and tech-enabled investment and wealth offerings.

"We're putting a stake in the ground with a clear ambition: to become the home of Australia's smart investors. We're broadening beyond online brokerage into a holistic wealth platform, giving Australians simpler, smarter ways to build wealth at every stage of their investment journey," Horton said.

All three products will allow members to withdraw their money without lock-in periods.

"Democratising wealth has always been at the heart of what we do. By combining world-class investment expertise with the digital experience our members already know and trust, we're challenging the traditional wealth management model and making professional investing accessible to many more Australians," Horton added.

The regulator has outlined its approach on its strategic objective of "getting the balance right" between effective regulation and the needs of the financial system.

The latest article details APRA's work to simplify prudential requirements, improve proportionality and reduce duplication across its regulatory framework.

APRA member Suzanne Smith said the regulator had made progress in making its requirements more targeted and efficient, while maintaining the standards needed to support a stable financial system.

The article outlines further work APRA intends to undertake as it continues to refine its prudential framework, with a focus on ensuring regulation is proportionate to the risk's faced by different entities.

APRA said the approach is intended to reduce regulatory requirements that do not materially contribute to prudential outcomes, while ensuring firms continue to meet appropriate standards of financial resilience and risk management.

The regulator's focus on regulatory efficiency comes as financial institutions continue to face a complex operating environment, with regulatory requirements spanning banking, insurance and superannuation.

APRA said its work is aimed at ensuring the prudential framework remains effective without imposing unnecessary costs or complexity on regulated entities.

Smith set out the regulator's progress to date, as well as the next steps towards a more targeted, proportionate and efficient framework.

"When APRA talks about reducing unnecessary regulatory burden, we do not mean lowering standards," said Smith.

"Our goal is to make sure regulation is targeted, proportionate and effective, so banks, insurers and superannuation funds remain safe and resilient without adding unnecessary cost or complexity."

The regulator said getting a balance right will remain an ongoing focus as it considers how prudential regulation can support productivity while maintaining financial stability.

The regulator said it is working to improve data sharing with other government agencies, with 30% more data shared with external stakeholders over the past 12 months aimed at reducing duplicate requests to industry. APRA said eight of the nine initiatives announced in its previous Corporate Plan are expected to be finalised by the end of 2026, with further work underway to simplify requirements and reduce the cumulative burden facing regulated entities.

Research from Scientific Beta found even in an index of 1400 stocks across developed markets, 25% is now represented by just 10 stocks, including tech names Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet.

"Historically, Australia was the concentrated market - banks and resources - while going global gave you this very broad, diversified opportunity set. That distinction has now become less obvious," Scientific Beta head of investment solutions for Australia and New Zealand Warwick Schneller said.

"Today you can buy a very broad developed-market index and still have more than a quarter of the portfolio sitting in 10 companies."

Scientific Beta said the intensifying concentration of the global market raises challenges for the common practice of market cap weighting, where constituent weights of stocks in a portfolio are determined by size.

"Concentration can emerge naturally. As market leadership changes, the degree and source of concentration can change with it," Schneller said.

"Sometimes that doesn't matter very much. Other times it matters quite a lot."

The research found that in today's US equity market - which makes up 70% of the global market - the effective number of stocks in the market cap benchmark is at its lowest level since the 1960s.

"The benchmark hasn't changed - but the risk embedded in the benchmark has," Schneller said.

Schneller stressed market cap weighting remains a useful starting point for investors, as they seek diversification abroad.

He said indices based on market cap indices are liquid, scalable and transparent and offer strong historical performance.

Schneller said for super funds subject to the Your Future Your Super performance tests, having an eye on market cap benchmarks also allows them to be mindful of tracking error constraints under the tests and to spend their limited active budgets wisely.

"But the important distinction here is that market cap is a weighting rule. It isn't really a risk or return objective," he said.

"If diversification is an investment objective, it may need to be explicitly built into the weighting process."

The research paper provides systematic frameworks for diversification built around five different weighting schema, aimed at reducing concentration, improving risk-adjusted return and managing implementation.

"We believe the question is not whether to deviate from the benchmark, but how to do it well within your active risk budget," Schneller said.

"Tracking error matters. Implementation matters. And for super funds, benchmark-relative outcomes matter very directly. So, the objective isn't maximum diversification at any cost. It's finding a sensible improvement in diversification within the risk budget you actually have."

Scientific Beta is a wholly owned subsidiary of Swiss-based global index provider STOXX.

IAG said the terms of the settlement are confidential, but Credit Suisse was suing IAG for around $2.8 billion, plus interest.

IAG said that the settlement of the Credit Suisse Proceedings would not have a material impact on its financial position or FY27 financial results, based on anticipated recoveries including from insurance and reinsurance arrangements and other indemnities.

The settlement comes after IAG also agreed ​to settle a separate $4 billion lawsuit brought by the administrators of Greensill Bank.

Greensill Capital was a global supply chain finance firm founded by Australian financier Lex Greensill that collapsed into insolvency in March 2021.

In October 2022 Credit Suisse announced it would undergo a restructure, saying the firm had "become unfocused".

In September 2024, UBS and Credit Suisse completed their merger, seeing Credit Suisse come under the UBS umbrella.

The collapse of Greensill Capital led Credit Suisse to wind down $14 billion in funds ​linked to the firm, through invoices Greensill Capital had purchased from suppliers to companies.

Credit Suisse was suing IAG, claiming it should have covered the debts as Greensill's main insurer, when the company collapsed.