A message from the Chair By contrast, the Chinese share market continued to struggle, with concerns over the government’s handling of its economy and private sector. Australian shares, as measured by the S&P/ASX 300, made a robust 14.4% return for the 2023 financial year, boosted by very strong gains in the Information Technology and Resources sectors. The Consumer Discretionary and Financial sectors also delivered strong gains, despite the challenge of higher inflation and interest rates squeezing consumers. Given the positive and negative developments at play in the current investment environment, it’s important for investors to maintain an appropriately disciplined and diversified portfolio at this challenging time. Your Future, Your Super Turning to regulatory developments, namely the Your Future, Your Super reforms, which aim to make super easier and more effective for members. When first introduced, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority focused on how the industry’s MySuper products stacked up to the reforms by conducting an annual performance test. In 2023, the test was expanded to include non-MySuper products with diversified investment strategies—of which all ours passed. Likewise, our MySuper product also passed again. Responsible investment Our members are increasingly looking for investments that better align to their preferences regarding social and ethical issues which is why we introduced the MLC Socially Responsible Growth investment option. Importantly, we believe responsible investment can improve investment outcomes for our members, which drives our continued consideration of ESG factors, where possible, in the MLC investment options we offer. If you’d like information about ESG factors and our responsible investing approach, please visit mlc.com.au/responsible-investment-policy 6 | MLC Super Fund 2023 Annual Report