POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
SPAA rejects single regulator for all super
Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) are different and should remain under the regulatory oversight of the Australian Taxation Office, according to the SMSF Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA).
SPAA chief executive Andrea Slattery has rejected the findings of a Super Review survey that the superannuation industry should be covered by a single regulator — the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The survey, conducted during the recent Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) national conference in Perth, revealed that over three-quarters of respondents supported a single regulator.
However Slattery described the outcome as being "wilfully ignorant" of how the sector works".
"The simple fact is APRA's mandate under the SIS legislation is to regulate funds solely on a prudential basis," she said.
"The reason for this level of control is to ensure trustees who are removed from fund members have substantial and robust systems in place to protect those members' interests.
"This differs to SMSFs that have a more detailed and technical oversight to ensure the amounts being accumulated for members is directed to the sole purpose of building retirement savings," Slattery said.
She said that for APRA to be allowed to apply prudential principles to SMSFs would result in significant changes in non-compliance because prudential supervision was general and broad-based — something which only worked where large funds were involved due to their magnitude and scale of operation.
"It also ignores the fact that the current regulator, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), is one of the premier government agencies that competently operates in a high volume processing environment. When you consider there are more than half a million SMSFs, then that's exactly the type of agency that's required for SMSFs," she said.
Recommended for you
In its pre-election policy document, the FSC highlighted 15 priority reforms, with superannuation featuring prominently, urging both major parties to avoid changing super taxes without a comprehensive tax review.
The Grattan Institute has labelled the Australian super system as “too complicated” and has proposed a three-pronged reform strategy to simplify superannuation in retirement.
Super funds delivered a strong 2024 result, with the median growth fund returning 11.4 per cent, driven by strong international sharemarket performance, new data has shown.
Australian Ethical has seen FUM growth of 27 per cent in the financial year to date.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI Second Close
32.68 3 y p.a(%)
2
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.72 3 y p.a(%)
3
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
31.36 3 y p.a(%)
4
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
29.60 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
27.64 3 y p.a(%)
