Cbus has come out on top as the superannuation fund with the most satisfied members, according to Roy Morgan research.
The research house found 73.2% of Cbus members were satisfied, followed by Catholic Super at 71.3%, and UniSuper at 69.6%.
On the other end of the scale, the members with the lowest satisfaction were from AMP (49.5%), ASGARD (52.5%), and BT and IOOF (both at 52.8%).
In terms of the top 12 funds, only three were retail funds – Macquarie sitting at sixth (68.2%), Mercer ninth (64.4%), and Suncorp at twelfth (64.4%).
Satisfaction with Financial Performance of Superannuation - Top 12 Performers Retail and Industry Funds – July 2019
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source (Australia)
The research also found that the lead in satisfaction industry funds had over retail funds had widened over the last 12 months.
In July 2019, 62.8% of people with an industry super fund were satisfied (1.1% points on a year ago), and well above retail funds at 57.4% (down 1.2% points).
Roy Morgan chief executive, Michele Levine, said: “The member satisfaction with industry funds has increased 1.1% points to 62.8% over the last year – the equal highest satisfaction for industry funds since March 2008 (63%) which many consider as the onset of global financial crisis with the bankruptcy of US investment bank Bear Stearns.
“The increase in industry fund satisfaction to some extent tracks the performance of the Australian share-markets which reached a new record high in July nearly twelve years after their previous high prior to the GFC,” Levine said.
“However, the decline in member satisfaction with retail super funds from a year ago by 1.2% points to 57.4% shows there is more to managing superannuation than a high-flying share-market.”
Levine noted that for super funds to provide the best service and to retain their members in meeting their needs they needed to understand what set their members apart from the average.
The report noted that the average Cbus member was a middle-class blue-collared Australian who did not obsess over their health, and Macquarie members tended to be wealthier who followed financial news closely.
Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data.
Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion.
APRA has raised an alarm about gaps in how superannuation trustees are managing the risks associated with unlisted assets, after releasing the findings of its latest review.
Compared to how funds were allocated to March this year, industry super funds have slightly decreased their allocation to infrastructure in the six months to September – dropping from 11 per cent to 10.6 per cent, according to the latest APRA data.