POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
ERF sector gets critical assessment
Sydney-based superannuation ratings house SuperRatings has issued a damning assessment of Australia’s lost superannuation accounts environment and the role played by some eligible rollover funds (ERFs).
The ratings not only pointed to a 12.78 per cent increase in the small and lost accounts in the ERF sector but suggested that around $125 million was taken in fees by the 15 ERF providers.
However, it said that one of the more positive elements to be drawn from its research was that many of the ERFs were creating a level of transparency by more actively assisting Australians in finding their lost and unclaimed superannuation by performing Australian Taxation Office matching or offering other web-based services.
However, the SuperRatings analysis suggests that despite some improvement, the ERF sector needs reform and states, “the ERF sector in its current form continues to be justifiable only by those who benefit from its revenues”.
The SuperRatings analysis hands top marks in the ERF sector to Ausfund, which was the only ERF to gain the company’s platinum rating.
However, it said there had been notable improvements in overall value offered by AMP, SuperTrace and NPT, all of which have received a gold rating.
SuperRatings noted that the whole issue of lost and small account balances within superannuation was one that was compounding each year and that self-regulation in the sector appeared to be working incredibly slowly.
“As long as the Government does nothing to address these issues, the inefficiencies will continue to proliferate,” it said.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
Recommended for you
SuperRatings has shared the top 10 balanced options of the last financial year.
Rest Super remains “fully committed” to equities, even as it anticipates higher market volatility than experienced in previous decades.
Australian superannuation funds have again generated strong returns for FY25, with the median growth fund returning 10.5 per cent for the year, according to Chant West.
The US remains a standout destination for innovation and commercialisation, according to MLC Asset Management chief investment officer Dan Farmer.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom 465 Calder Road Calder
99.46 3 y p.a(%)
2
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
95.46 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
78.55 3 y p.a(%)
4
BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF
50.39 3 y p.a(%)
5
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
47.50 3 y p.a(%)
