$90 billion superannuation fund Hesta has fully divested from Mineral Resources Ltd, citing escalating concerns over governance and leadership under founder and chief executive officer Chris Ellison.
The decision to sell its remaining A$17.3 million stake comes in the wake of the April resignation of three board members who had formed Mineral Resources’ newly created ethics and governance committee. Their departure marked a turning point for the industry fund, which had already placed the company on its investment watch list in October 2024.
“Last year we outlined our concerns that the managing director’s (Mr Ellison’s) succession timeframe did not reflect the seriousness of the issues, and the issues indicated a systemic failure of governance,” said Hesta chief executive officer Debby Blakey.
“We have since regularly engaged with senior leaders and directors at the business to encourage action we believe necessary to restore investor confidence”.
Blakey said the board exits last month constituted “a significant step backwards in seeking to address the serious governance concerns”.
“Given these departures and the forthcoming succession of the Chair, we don’t currently see a path to our concerns being addressed,” she added.
“We are focused on the delivery of strong long-term returns to our members, and believe selling our remaining holdings was in their best interests at this time”.
Mineral Resources has not responded publicly to the divestment decision.