Super

Inefficiencies in the back office and clearing systems that the burgeoning ETF market relies on need to be rooted out, but data shows there may be a disconnect between what providers and consumers believe matters.

Super funds are offering less and less advice services, despite members making clear that they need it more than ever. Fund advice has a relatively attractive price point, SuperRatings’ Kirby Rappell explained, but funds are struggling to explain its value.

KPMG’s latest Super Insights report shows the future shape that the industry might take, with distinct cohorts of funds now emerging across size and service. But there’s little positive sentiment to be found about funds online.

It’s a welcome stopper on the amount advisers will have to fork out, but has no connection to the core issue. The government still fails to recognise the inherent flaws in its CSLR scheme, and the industry is running out of patience.

In the 2019 federal election, Labor’s proposal to abolish cash refunds for excess franking credits went down like a lead balloon. So, will the $3 million cap proposal see Labor revisit history?

The meteoric rise of industry funds has earned them a rightful place at the top of the superannuation food chain. But their standing is not a given, and the failures are starting to mount.

Retirement’s approach requires a profound change in how investors approach markets and construct portfolios, including arranging their income needs around three distinct periods of retired life, the financial advice firm’s founders said.

Superannuation fees can add up to a huge long-term expenditure, costing Australians with modest super balances thousands of dollars a year. But costs may start to fall, with some funds and new players working to disrupt the structure.

A joint review conducted by ASIC and APRA was scathing of funds’ collective attempts to meet their new legal obligation to help fund members plan for retirement, and urged them to “address, with urgency, the gaps in their approach”.

While the move to tax superannuation balances above $3 million at a higher rate would affect only a handful of people at first, if the threshold is not indexed to inflation, future generations may be turned off from investing in their super, industry leaders say.

Australians across the board are less satisfied with their superannuation funds than they were a year ago, a new report from Roy Morgan showed, with share market volatility and industry consolidation acting as major drivers of the decline.

Speaking at the SMSF Association’s National Conference, the assistant treasurer called out “modern-day Edmund Hillarys” seeking to raid Australia’s “Mount Everest of superannuation” as he pressed the need for an objective for super that prioritises preservation.