Legislation to consolidate low-balance superannuation accounts needs to go further if it is to prevent a cycle of unintended accounts still being created and then subsequently consolidated, Rice Warner has suggested.
The research house found that while the Protecting Your Superannuation package would speed up the removal of unintended multiple accountants, predicting that 3 million super accounts would be closed in the short-term, young people particularly would continue opening multiple default funds.
Recommendations from the Productivity Commission and Banking Royal Commission however, went further in looking to prevent the creation of unnecessary multiple default accounts.
The Productivity Commission’s recommendation that members be allocated a single default fund at the beginning of their working lives and Commissioner Kenneth Hayne’s ‘stapling’ suggestion would both limit unnecessary accounts more effectively, Rice Warner said.
It noted however, that the Productivity Commission intended that its recommendation be implemented alongside the ’10 best-in-show’ model, the implementation of which looked unlikely.
Rice Warner also warned there could be negative implications to having less superannuation funds in operation, such as fees needing to rise to provide the same services but with less members. This could make many smaller funds unavailable; indeed, there had already been merger activity with funds seeking to avoid price increases.
The super fund announced that Gregory has been appointed to its executive leadership team, taking on the fresh role of chief advice officer.
The deputy governor has warned that, as super funds’ overseas assets grow and liquidity risks rise, they will need to expand their FX hedge books to manage currency exposure effectively.
Super funds have built on early financial year momentum, as growth funds deliver strong results driven by equities and resilient bonds.
The super fund has announced that Mark Rider will step down from his position of chief investment officer (CIO) after deciding to “semi-retire” from full-time work.