Aleks Vickovich

Sceptics cautious about the hype surrounding artificial intelligence underestimate the major scientific and civilisational advancements the technology

In his first public comments since being named chief investment officer of Australia's sovereign wealth fund in August, Ben Samild has said fostering a team culture of “purpose and joy” is among his top priorities.

Bridgewater Associates has a house view that the world is moving into a period of macro-volatility and global conflict, following a half-century period of relative harmony and pro-growth market conditions.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says superannuation savings can and should play a role in supplying capital to megatrends that will reshape Australia’s economy and fiscal position. The comments come in an exclusive foreword to the first edition of Retirement Magazine, the new sister publication to Investment Magazine.

A little-known administrative hurdle is prohibiting tens of thousands of poorer Australians from accessing account-based pensions via the country's biggest super funds. Aleks Vickovich writes this seemingly widespread practice is shameful and threatens the grand bargain underlying compulsory super.

Douglas Rivers, chief scientist at pollster YouGov, said data coming out of the current US presidential election confirms significant cultural and demographic shifts that are reshaping the political map. Rivers told the Fiduciary Investors Symposium that the once-popular “demographics is destiny” mantra predicting permanent centre-left majorities has lost meaning in the Trump era.

Stockpicker Peter Bates, a global equity portfolio manager at T. Rowe Price, has reduced exposure to AI hardware providers like the much-hyped Nvidia, believing lofty valuations are becoming problematic. But he says the AI boom is not a bubble since it is funded primarily by the real cashflows of household name giants like Microsoft and Meta.

The Albanese government has finally legislated an objective for the super system, in an eleventh-hour achievement that makes Australia the second developed nation to do so. The milestone comes almost two years after Treasurer Jim Chalmers kicked off the campaign at a Conexus Financial Political Series event.

Licensees will be free to employ a new class of diploma-educated financial advisers and charge for their services in a last-ditch effort by Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones to legislate advice reform before the election. However, the concessions come with the catch that advice provided by the new class will be limited to APRA-regulated products and subject to new civil penalties.

The Labor government will pursue legislation to allow super funds to “nudge” their members to seek financial advice, as part of their efforts to fulfill their Retirement Income Covenant obligations. Minister for Financial Services Stephen Jones claimed he had achieved “consensus” following a confidential and heated consultation over the introduction of a new class of financial adviser.