Responsible investment and specialist fund strengths recognised in award wins
23 May 2024
MEDIA RELEASE
Cbus Super has been recognised as Best Fund: Responsible Investment, Specialist Fund of the Year for the fifth year in a row and Best Fund: Member Services for the second year in a row at the 2024 Chant West Super Fund Awards held in Sydney last night. Cbus Super was also a top three finalist in the Super Fund of the Year category.
Cbus Super CEO Kristian Fok said it was tremendous recognition in the Fund’s 40th anniversary year: “We are a true specialist fund with a proud history and it’s tremendous to have the services we tailor and deliver for our members recognised in both the specialist fund and member services categories. Alongside the impressive recognition for our Investment team’s successful incorporation of responsible investment principles, we are proud that members can have confidence in the progress we are making across our portfolio.
“The innovations of our founding leaders stand today in how we focus on our members – simplicity of information, tailored death and TPD cover*, competitive administration fees and investing back into our members’ sectors. We leverage our industry experience to invest in target sectors to deliver strong long term returns and create jobs for our members, including through our wholly owned entity Cbus Property^.
“I’m particularly pleased to see the acknowledgement by Chant West of our differentiated services to help guide our members towards a dignified retirement including our team of workplace coordinators who visit work sites or homes every day of the week to help members face-to-face. And for recognition for the Fund being the industry leader in providing insurance tailored for hazardous work and taking action on unpaid super. We are the fund that leans into these issues.”
Chant West noted Cbus’s leading service for members in building and construction, with a large team of coordinators providing in-person services, the recovery of unpaid super and the Fund’s dangerous occupation exemption providing insurance cover to over 200,000 members who would have otherwise had no cover under existing superannuation laws (as at 31 March 2024). The Fund’s proactive work to help members understand their super and insurance was also highlighted, including the success of engaging member communications with personalised messages in retirement income estimates and addressing member diversity with the provision for different languages and a translation service.
The Best Fund: Responsible Investment award recognises the increasing importance of ESG issues to super funds and their members with a focus on how funds incorporate material responsible investment risks and opportunities into their core portfolios through investment decision making, asset ownership and advocacy. Chant West recognised the successful integration of responsible investment principles at Cbus, noting Cbus’s emissions reductions goal by 2030, the enhancement of how we measure our emissions reduction to better reflect real world outcomes and our transparent reporting to members with our externally assured Responsible Investment Supplement. The award also acknowledged the achievements of Cbus Property’s commercial office portfolio reaching net zero carbon.
Cbus Chief Investment Officer Brett Chatfield said, “We are proud of the recognition for our long term commitment to responsible investment principles and real world outcomes, which we continue to embed across the total portfolio. Our internal expertise and capability of our Responsible Investment team allows us to be agile when responding to new and emerging ESG risks and opportunities so that they can be an integrated part of the investment decision-making process, and we can showcase to our members through our reporting that we do what we say we do.”
Cbus was a finalist seven Chant West categories:
- Super Fund of the Year (shortlisted top three)
- Pension Fund of the Year
- Best Fund: Member Services (winner)
- Specialist Fund of the Year (winner)
- Best Fund: Responsible Investment (winner)
- Best Fund: Investments
- Best Fund: Insurance
Media enquiries: David McNamara, 0455 144 464, david.mcnamara@cbusuper.com.au
*Insurance is issued under a group policy with our insurer TAL Life Limited ABN 70 050 109 450 AFSL 237848.
^ Cbus Property Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned entity of United Super Pty Ltd as Trustee for the Construction and Building Unions Superannuation Fund (Cbus Super) and is responsible for the development and management of a portfolio of Cbus Super’s property investments.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. This information is about Cbus Super. It doesn’t account for your specific needs. Please consider your financial position, objectives and requirements before making financial decisions. Read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination to decide if Cbus Super is right for you. Call 1300 361 784 or visit cbussuper.com.au.
Cbus is the leading Industry Super Fund representing those that help build, maintain and shape Australia. As one of Australia’s largest super funds, we provide superannuation and income stream accounts to more than 910,000 members and we manage more than $85 billion of our members’ money (as at 30 June 2023). Our members include workers and retirees, their families and employers. As of April 2022, Cbus merged with Media Super and offers Media Super products. For more than 30 years Media Super has been the industry super fund for Print, Media, Entertainment and Arts, and broader creative industries. In May 2023 Cbus Super successfully completed its merger with EISS Super, welcoming 17,000 new members and establishing itself as the leading fund for energy and electrical workers in Australia.
Issued 23 May 2024, United Super Pty Ltd ABN 46 006 261 623 AFSL 233792 as Trustee for the Construction and Building Unions Superannuation Fund ABN 75 493 363 262 (Cbus and/or Cbus Super). Further information about the Chant West award categories available here: https://www.chantwest.com.au/fund-awards/about-the-awards