The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has called for a greater link between company performance and executive remuneration.

 

ACSI says there is a growing discrepancy between executive salary and awards and the performance of their companies.

 

Ann Byrne, chief executive of ACSI, says the group is investigating the growing pack packages of a select group of executives.

 

"Over the [past] 10 years the medium pay of CEOs of the ASX 100 has increased 131 per cent with the median bonus increasing 190 per cent," Ms Byrne told the ABC.

 

"Whereas the S&P ASX 100 had increased 31 per cent."

 

Ms Byrne said the increasing pay of senior executives was far outstripping the value and return to shareholders.

 

"We would like to be seeing restraint, ensuring that executives are paid reasonably and that in fact there is some relationship to state of their business and shareholder value," she said.

 

The calls by ACSI come as the ANZ announced a salary increase cap of 1 per cent of the company’s 900 executives and senior management. The bank announced that the money would be redirected to higher performing employees on lower pay grades.