The introduction of MySuper represented one of the greatest wastes of time and money ever to be encountered by the Australian superannuation industry, according to Deloitte partner, Russell Mason.
Participating on a panel at Super Review’s Future of Superannuation Conference in Melbourne, Mason said he believed the money and time had been wasted because, ultimately, it had simply amounted to a rebadging of existing default funds.
However, his fellow panellist, Rice Warner chief executive, Andrew Boal disagreed with Mason arguing that, if nothing else, MySuper had succeeded in reducing fees.
Boal said he, himself, was a member of a MySuper fund and he had remained within it because he believed it was appropriate to his needs.
Grow Super head of strategy, Adam Gee said that while he agreed that MySuper had served to contain fees, he believed it had nonetheless fallen sort in many other aspects.
The panel had been asked whether the Cooper Review push for MySuper had failed the superannuation industry in the context of lowering the need for member engagement.
The regulator has fined two super funds for misleading sustainability and investment claims, citing ongoing efforts to curb greenwashing across the sector.
Super funds have extended their winning streak, with balanced options rising 1.3 per cent in October amid broad market optimism.
Introducing a cooling off period in the process of switching super funds or moving money out of the sector could mitigate the potential loss to fraudulent behaviour, the outgoing ASIC Chair said.
Widespread member disengagement is having a detrimental impact on retirement confidence, AMP research has found.
Russell Mason is spot on with his comment & I could not agree more. That Andrew Boal should disagree is exactly the response I would expect from Rice Warner. A little more practical involvement in the day to day administration might change the theoretical views that are so often expressed by Rice Warner.