The body revealed the holdings its members had flocked to in a written answer to a question on notice from the House of Representatives standing committee on economics in late December.
ACSI chief executive Louise Davidson appeared before the parliamentary committee in November, where she told committee chair and Liberal MP Tim Wilson that members of the council will “usually own around about 10 per cent of most listed companies”.
The council has 37 members, including industry super funds such as AustralianSuper, Aware Super, UniSuper and HESTA, as well as investment managers IFM Investors and the Victorian Funds Management Corporation.
As at 31 December 2019, the largest aggregated ASX 200 holding for ACSI members was industrial valve manufacturer Reliance Worldwide, at 29 per cent. The median aggregated ASX 200 holding was 9.7 per cent.
For the two prior surveys, JB Hi-Fi had the largest combined ownership, at 25.7 per cent and 30.2 per cent as at 31 January and 31 December 2018.
Data centre operator NEXTDC topped on 31 January 2017, with an aggregated holding of 24.9 per cent, while Sydney Airport had 22.2 per cent on 31 December 2015.
The data is collected by ACSI annually, but as noted by Ms Davidson, “members are trading in and out of stocks all the time”. The body does not keep tabs on member ownership between its end of year check-ins.
“But you accept it as indicative?” Mr Wilson asked the body.
Ed John, executive manager of governance and engagement at ACSI replied: “Absolutely.”
ACSI also noted that during the five-year time frame, there were no ASX 200 entities in which its members held a controlling stake, either individually or on a combined basis.
“ACSI members are not associates and do not vote together in a coordinated way,” the body wrote in its answer to the question on notice.
Sarah Simpkins
Sarah Simpkins is a journalist at Momentum Media, reporting primarily on banking, financial services and wealth.
Prior to joining the team in 2018, Sarah worked in trade media and produced stories for a current affairs program on community radio.
You can contact her on [email protected].
