The pay packets at these Aussie companies made a major investor mad

2 weeks ago 13

The Future Fund has revealed it lodged protest votes over executive pay at companies including ASX Ltd, Woodside, Nine Entertainment, Mineral Resources and Star Entertainment last year as it continues to keep a close eye on pay practices across corporate Australia.

However, the $252 billion fund steered clear of a few high-profile investor backlashes over executive pay in the latest financial year.

It did not vote against the remuneration reports of CSL and ANZ Bank, both of which copped a “first strike” – in which more than 25 per cent of shareholders vote against the pay packet of a company’s senior executives – at their latest annual meetings.

Australia’s sovereign wealth fund has a grim view on executive pay in the country.

The Future Fund is a taxpayer-owned pot of money that is invested in markets around the world, including in the ASX, in which it holds stakes in companies across the index.

On Wednesday, it disclosed how it voted at all 224 Australian annual shareholder meetings that it participated in last financial year, providing some insight into its views on governance issues at some of the nation’s biggest companies.

The report shows that last year the Future Fund was a part of investor protest votes that delivered a range of well-known companies a first strike. For example, the Future Fund voted against the remuneration report at the sharemarket operator ASX Ltd (which received a 26.1 per cent vote against from investors) amid concerns about bonuses and a run of regulatory problems.

It also opposed the executive pay report at Nine, owner of this masthead, in an annual meeting held last November, when more than a third of investors opposed the remuneration report. The fund also voted against the re-election of chair Catherine West (opposed by 17 per cent of investors) and against the re-election of Andrew Lancaster (opposed by 8.2 per cent of investors).

Mineral Resources, where almost three-quarters of investors opposed the remuneration report last year, was another company the Future Fund protested against. The Mineral Resources meeting was held amid fallout from a tax scandal that led to managing director Chris Ellison announcing he would step down by mid-2026.

The fund voted against the executive pay scheme of struggling casino operator Star Entertainment, as did more than 40 per cent of investors, and it also opposed an equity grant and potential termination benefits to chief executive Steve McCann.

The Future Fund also voted against the remuneration report of oil and gas giant Woodside – a company that avoided a first strike at its latest AGM, with 15 per cent protest vote on pay.

In contrast, the fund voted in favour of the remuneration report at ANZ Bank’s annual meeting last December, in which almost 40 per cent of investors voted against the banking giant’s executive pay scheme amid concerns about poor management of “non-financial risk”.

It also supported the remuneration report at pharmaceutical giant CSL, which received a 26.4 per cent vote against after a tough year.

The disclosure on Wednesday did not provide reasons for the fund’s individual voting decisions, but the fund says the decisions are informed by its corporate governance principles.

Former Labor politician Greg Combet is the chair of the Future Fund.

The Future Fund also voted against the remuneration reports of pathology business Healius, IDP Education, jewellery chain Lovisa, building services company Johns Lyng Group, fund manager Perpetual, technology business Nuix, ship builder Austal and wealth platform Netwealth.

The Future Fund said that overall, more than 40 companies on the ASX received a first strike during the financial year as a result of issues such as “disconnects” between pay and performance, inadequate disclosure, and discretionary adjustments by remuneration committees.

Commenting generally on its engagement with companies during the year, the fund said: “We were concerned to see some Remuneration Committees displaying a tendency to prioritise retention of key individuals – particularly where this appeared to be at the expense of rigorous accountability in the face of issues or underperformance.”

The fund said it voted in favour of the remuneration report in 77.8 per cent of the meetings in which it was involved, while it opposed the remuneration report 22.2 per cent of the time.

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