The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) appears to have qualified the manner in which its superannuation data, particularly return on assets (ROA), can be used.
Industry observers have suggested that the qualification, attached to the release of June quarter superannuation data, appears to reflect recent industry criticism of the manner in which some of the regulator’s information has been used.
In a section attached to the June quarter data, the regulator states: “APRA’s ROA represents the net earnings of superannuation assets towards funding members’ benefits, primarily for retirement.
“The ROA measures the combined earnings of all the individual investment options and products offered by trustees. Some trustees provide a wide range of investment options and superannuation products, with equally wide ranging investment goals, from which members may choose. APRA’s statistics are not designed to provide individual members with information to compare the investment options offered.”
The APRA notation then goes on to add: “The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s FIDO website provides guidance on how to compare superannuation investment options and links to other sources of information for this purpose.”
The Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Senator Nick Sherry, earlier this month told a Pensions and Investments Summit that he would like to see APRA providing data on the best and worst performing funds.
