The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has welcomed the government's announcement that it would be strengthening the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
ASFA was also particularly pleased with the Government's decision for greater funding for the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) to clear the case backlog.
The association chief executive, Pauline Vamos, said "where members need to take the next step and seek a resolution through the SCT, it is important that these issues are resolved quickly as some complainants are in a difficult financial position".
"The SCT is a service of critical importance to APRA [Australian Prudential Regulation Authority]-regulated superannuation funds and their members. Future funding needs to reflect the rise in time taken to resolve complaints due to the complexity of issues and increasing numbers of those registering a beneficial interest," said Ms Vamos.
ASFA also noted the announcement of the implementation of the Financial System Inquiry recommendation for a full user pays model for ASIC funding.
"ASFA supports adequate and appropriate funding for ASIC, and considers that all regulated industries should contribute to that funding via levies," Vamos said.
ASFA also welcomed the deferral of the industry funding model until 2017 as it has concern about the lack of transparency and accountability inherent in the current process by which levies are applied and utilised.
Private market assets in super have surged, while private debt recorded the fastest growth among all investment types.
The equities investor has launched a new long-short fund seeded by UniSuper, targeting alpha from ASX 300 equities using AI insights.
The fund has strengthened efforts to boost gender diversity, targeting 40:40:20 balance across its investment teams by 2030.
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.