Funds re-brand, not re-think default options

Most super funds just re-branded current balanced default options as their MySuper offering, new research has found. 

The Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR), along with Chant West, found that except for a handful of funds such as QSuper, most industry and public sector funds did not re-examine or change their offerings. 

Moreover, certain funds in the public sector that manage default money did not obtain a MySuper license. 

These funds, which were not Australian Prudential Regulation Authority-regulated, were located in South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. 

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"Overall we surmise that at least two-thirds of default funds by value and more than half by number underwent no meaningful change following the introduction of MySuper," the report said. 

The report, titled 'MySuper: A New Landscape for Default Superannuation Funds', also showed MySuper failed to reach its main goal, which was to launch a range of low cost, easy-to-compare default products. 

Retail funds, on the other hand, have jumped on the bandwagon by substantially changing their product offerings and lowering fees by 0.14 per cent.  

Around 60 per cent of the sector adopted a lifecycle approach where investment risk is dialled down as the member moves towards retirement. 

Retail funds have also moved towards passively managed products with lower fees averaging 0.95 per cent per annum, and away from alternative assets.  

"Whether these design changes are considered beneficial depends on one's view on debatable issues such as the trade-off between sequencing risk and expected return, active versus passive management, and the benefits of alternative assets," the report said.