Future Fund chief executive Paul Costello defended the $51 billion fund's newly appointed "global custodian", Northern Trust, after revelations linking the bank to the Enron scandal.
Mr Costello told a business lunch in Melbourne the public had a right to know what the Future Fund was doing with public servants superannuation investments.
But afterwards he waved off questions over the decision to grant the custodian job to the US-based Northern Trust, despite its link in the world's largest corporate collapse.
"We've explained our position fairly carefully on that and I think enough's been said, so I've got no further comment to make on that issue," Mr Costello told reporters.
Asked whether the controversial revelations had cast a cloud over the Australian fund, Mr Costello said: "That's for others to judge".
The Chicago-based bank was the trustee of the Enron pension fund in which some 20,000 employees lost up to $US1.6 billion ($A1.95 billion).
It paid a settlement of $US37.5 million ($A45.63 million) to the new trustee.
Its president Rick Waddell told ABC Radio the bank had settled the claims as a "business decision" without admitting "guilt for wrongdoing" over how it handled the Enron assets.
As well, the US bank said it had "absolutely nothing to do with the financial collapse of Enron" in a statement.
As a global custodian, its role was to physically safe-keep a client's assets and settle their trades not act as an investment manager, it said.
The appointment of the US bank ahead of rival bidder National Australia Bank had already sparked criticism from the federal opposition and unions.
But Mr Costello told a business lunch "it should not be a surprise" that a global bank was chosen ahead of a local bank.
Around the world there were only one dozen banks that could act as global custodians and of them, only five could service an Australian fund, he said.
"We do understand the disappointment of the applicants who weren't successful in this role but we feel very confident with our decision."
Mr Costello said he accepted he and others working at the Future Fund would come under a "glare of scrutiny".
"When you manage public money the public have a right to know what you are doing."
Nevertheless, the fund was not in a race with other superannuation funds which are forced to produce quick gains to satisfy clients.
When it begins paying out public servants' superannuation in 2020, the total liabilities may have hit $150 billion, he said.
But despite intense public interest, the fund would not reveal its investment strategy in the short-term, Mr Costello said.
"Specifically we are not talking about what proportion of our assets will flow to the Australian share market relative to the global share markets."
Mr Costello said the process would begin in the current financial year and the fund's annual report would let people know "how far down the track we've got on that".
"A far greater proportion of the superannuation funds' present return comes from being exposed to Australian and other equity markets as opposed to the particular shares they hold within those markets," Mr Costello said.
The Future Fund saw itself as portfolio researchers, not as a trading organisation.
Day to day trading would be outsourced to external investment management firms, Mr Costello said.