Editor's Choice
Australia, UK partner to procure well-regulated financial markets
Following its inaugural meeting in September 2025, the second UK-Australia Joint Financial Regulatory Forum took place this week, with Australia remaining vocal about placing greater emphasis on governance and asset valuation of private markets.
Count takes 30% stake in Brisbane advice firm
Count has agreed to acquire a 30% stake in Brisbane-based accounting and financial advice firm Apiary Financial, continuing its push to expand its equity partnership network while reporting stronger first-quarter earnings.
Audit quality continues to fall short: ASIC
The corporate regulator has called for improvements in audit quality and financial reporting after its latest surveillance found companies, including superannuation funds, are still not getting the fundamentals right.
ETFs entering 3.0 era: JPMAM
JPMAM believes thematic ETFs may become a thing of the past as actively managed ETFs become more prevalent.
Further Reading
Products
Expert Feed
When geopolitics becomes a portfolio risk
Geopolitics is back - again - and Australian investors can no longer treat it as distant background noise.
Does association membership still matter?
With all the changes the advice sector has experienced in recent years, such as regulatory reform and increased education and professional standards ...
Digital assets and where they stand in 2026
So far in 2026 digital assets have captured the headlines largely for the wrong reasons, but that doesn't tell the full story.
Rethinking default design in a changing market environment
The evolution underway in the US DC system highlights the value of periodically reassessing default design assumptions.
Featured Profile
Jacqueline Fernley
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
ARC POINT OCIO PTY LTD
ARC POINT OCIO PTY LTD
Jacqueline Fernley is a self-confessed nerd, a market animal and as of this year, her own boss. Riddhima Talwani writes.
The Financial Standard podcast Tune in each week as we discuss the latest developments in Australia's wealth management industry. |  |
These amounts are extremely high particularly given the sameness of many of these funds and their historical roots in trade unions. Over a million bucks to do your best to perform like everyone else and pretending to look after the workers? Wow....
We don't pay commissions
Industry Super Funds....only run for the benefit of our members!!
Two things come to my mind.
1 - We have all seen the commercials showing a large hand in the pockets of superannuation Funds members. From reading this article one has to wonder who's hands are these?
2. Considering the earnings of most members of the above mentioned Funds, isn't it disgraceful to see the enormous gap?
Most members, if not all, will never see in their lifetime, an amount as large as the amounts "earned" by these executives in a year.
It is amazing the lengths some funds go to to hide their disclosures on their website but you can find it after about 20 minutes of searching under "Relevant Disclosures".
Animal Farm is as relevant today as ever!
Granted, these salaries (over $400K in my opinion) are excessive but let's see some salaries (profit margins) for financial advisers, banks and retail fund senior management.
No matter how the above contributors spin it, individual retirement benefits are maximized if you are a member of an industry fund. This includes SMSF and retail funds. Read some Alan Kohler for his opinion on Retail Superannuation Funds and Retirement Villages. It's especially enlightening for retirees.
The stats say it all and the Government are committing a crime against the community is they continue on their present course of destroying the non-profit essence of industry funds, in favour of the big banks.
And now for the retail funds salaries please?
But Industry Super Funds claim they have low fees and are run entirely for the benefit of members.
To Gratuitous Adviser - please explain how retirement benefits are maximised, when a decent, low-cost Retail Super fund with a SIMILAR investment/asset mix perform much the same. This is the fallacy perpetuated by millions of dollars spent on advertising.
Oh yes, ask AK. Like he doesn't have his own barrow to push? Just because he is on the (severely biased) ABC doesn't mean anything these days. I don't expect we will see this article appear on a poorly disguised 'Consumer benefit' program.
I suppose on top of the salaries, you'd add the benefits like the numerous visits to the corporate boxes at various sporting stadiums etc. More like 'Run to benefit Fund and Advertising Execs'.