POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Super vigilance urged on ASIC user-pays
Superannuation funds cannot afford to ignore moves towards a "user-pays" model for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in circumstances where most funds are now involved in the delivery of financial advice, according to Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) chief executive, Pauline Vamos.
Speaking to Super Review as part of its 2016 superannuation policy outlook feature, Vamos said that virtually all funds stood to be impacted by the user-pays model being canvassed for ASIC, particularly if the model utilised a formula based on Funds under Management (FUM).
Superannuation funds are largely supervised by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and contribute to the funding of both ASIC and the Australian Taxation Office via the financial services supervisory level, also known as the "APRA levy".
ASIC chairman, Greg Medcraft has pressed for a user-pays model for the regulator over much of the past two years and the Government signalled an examination of the model in last year's Federal Budget.
However, he said the superannuation industry would need to be alert to the manner in which such a regime was established because of the multi-faceted nature of their operations across superannuation, investment management and planning.
"There is scope for double-dipping, particularly if such as system is based on FUM," Vamos said.
Recommended for you
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.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI Second Close
61.07 3 y p.a(%)
2
Spire Oaktree Opportunities XI First Close USD
59.21 3 y p.a(%)
3
DomaCom Lot 21 Chellaston Road Munno Para West SA 5115 Australia
31.73 3 y p.a(%)
4
Fidante Credit Suisse Global Private Equity
30.15 3 y p.a(%)
5
DomaCom 4/27 Crombie Avenue Bundall QLD 4217 Australia
26.71 3 y p.a(%)
