AIA partners with Ending Loneliness Together to combat chronic loneliness, helping improve the mental health and physical health of members and staff by reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and premature death.

Jeremy Cooper, former chairman, Retirement Income at Challenger, and Kate McCallum, director and wealth adviser, Multiforte Financial Services, bring to life the realities of retirement advice – where it is now, how it can be better and what to retiring Australians really need to know. Both Cooper and McCallum praise Michelle Levy’s Quality of Advice Review for its call for bold reforms in the sector that they believe will remove barriers for more Australians to access good advice.

Speakers: David Knox, senior partner and actuary, Mercer Australia and Deborah Ralston, professorial fellow, Monash University and guardian board member, Future Fund, talk to Julia Newbould, managing editor, Conexus Financial on the need to broaden the super system to increase equity for both PAYG and the self-employed, low income earners, high income earners and home owners , non-home owners, men, women and those who retire voluntarily and unexpectedly.

Skye King, head of ESG and Responsible Investment at NGS Super, and Fiona Mann, head of listed equities & ESG and LGIA Super and Energy Super – now Brighter Super, talk to Fiona Reynolds, chief executive, Conexus Financial about ESG and what it means to investors today. With ESG now in the mainstream, leading superfunds are turning to their relationships with managers to ensure responsible investment considerations are integrated at all levels of decision making. Making sure managers are best in class in seeking out responsible investment considerations is essential to integrating ESG into portfolios.

Despite reporting improved outcomes for members, the release of APRA’s second MySuper performance test results masked the unintended consequences of the test in its current form, experts say.

Superannuation funds are laser focused on the numbers around cost and performance for members, but aren’t always up to par on member experience, particularly post-retirement, experts say. When facing a difficult choice between keeping fees as low as possible or investing some revenue in better systems to help members engage, data shows members are willing to pay for a better experience.

Jacki Ellis, head of retirement segment, Aware Super, Dr David Bell, executive director of The Conexus Institute and Julia Newbould, managing editor, Conexus Financial talk all things retirement income policy. We start with a brief history of retirement income policy, take a look at present retirement income policy and finally explore the principles-based approach of the Retirement Income Covenant which gives funds the flexibility to focus on the best outcomes for individual members despite challenges remaining in measuring success and providing tailored advice.

Cate Wood, a former national chair of Women in Super and past president of the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees speaks in depth with Robbie Campo, a Cbus executive and passionate advocate for the economic security of women in retirement about equity in super, why women are still falling behind their male peers, the thorny issue of tax concessions and the problems which will be faced by an aging Australia

Garry Weaven, former ACTU assistant secretary and renowned industry fund builder, calls on funds to build a public case for themselves in preparation for inevitable years of negative returns and for a review into the SMSF sector in a conversation with Stewart Hawkins, editor, Investment Magazine.

With politicians questioning an apparent harmonisation of superannuation funds' influence in local markets, Investment Magazine's Matthew Smith invites to Unisuper's Luke Barrett, general council at Unisuper and academic David Gallagher, to discuss concentration and intent of investment teams and their proxy advisers as they grow in size and influence relative to the public markets and private assets they invest in.

AIA general manager group distribution, Anthony Clough, and Mercer partner, Tim Jenkins, speak to Investment Magazine’s Stewart Hawkins about insurance in super – how the new stapling rules may affect outcomes for members and what the future holds for insurance products in the industry.

ACSI CEO Louise Davidson and Aware Super CIO Damian Graham speak to Investment Magazine’s Stewart Hawkins about two issues affecting Australia’s super landscape – globalisation and governance. Are super funds in Australia running out of local assets to invest in? If so, where are the opportunities?

Mercer Super CEO Tim Barber and KPMG’s national section leader for asset and wealth management Linda Elkins speak to Investment Magazine’s Stewart Hawkins about the controversial issue of how super funds market directly to consumers and whether the members’ money they spend doing so is justified.

UNSW governance and litigation expert Scott Donald and former risk officer advising trustee boards Damian Murphy talk to Matthew Smith about accountability of trustee directors and the impact new rules and recent regulatory actions will have on the structure of profit-for-member funds.

Brendan Coates from the Grattan Institute and SDA national assistant secretary Julia Fox debate the level of the superannuation guarantee and the clarity of the purpose of super as well as consider what the superannuation industry could do to better serve itself in a changeable policy environment.

Robert Walters’ Associate Director and Recruitment Specialist Mel Munro and Mercer Principal and Human Resources Consultant Michael Moses talk to Investment Magazine’s Stewart Hawkins about the vexing question of remuneration in the super industry, who should get paid what and why – an issue made particularly complex because of the compulsory nature of the way funds collect assets and the fiduciary duty they have to their members.

David Barnden, the lawyer responsible for bringing the landmark climate change case against Rest Super and Liza McDonald, head of responsible investing at Aware Super, talk to Matthew Smith about the shift in the climate change discussion within the superannuation industry, the member-led movement for change, government inaction and tough conversations with some asset managers.

Outgoing chair of Togethr Trustees Andrew Fairly and Chant West general manager Ian Fryer talk with Investment Magazine's Matthew Smith about the great consolidation trend as well as run the ruler over some recent deal structures and funding situations before making predictions for how further consolidation will play out.

Liberal Party MP Tim Wilson and independent economist Saul Eslake speak to Investment Magazine’s Stewart Hawkins about the three pillars of retirement in Australia, whether super should be used to increase home ownership, the downside of increasing the superannuation contribution rate and navigating the minefield of ethical investing versus funds’ fiduciary duties.