Industry Super Australia (ISA) has urged the Government not to cave into bank-lobbying to dismantle the industry superannuation governance model.
ISA pointed to reports that suggested the Government was preparing a raft of bills that could dismantle the model, and give bank-owned super funds a “leave pass” on some of the new disclosure and transparency requirements.
ISA said the bill came despite ongoing revelations about poor governance, culture, and conduct within the banks and their wealth management arms.
ISA chief executive, David Whiteley, said: “Industry super funds are deliberately different and have been immune to the scandals that continue to cause significant consumer loss and hardship”.
"Member-first governance and culture is the reason industry super funds outperform bank-owned super funds,” he said.
Whiteley said the success of the trustee governance model was evident of the outperformance of industry super funds over bank funds.
"The government should focus on fixing unpaid super, addressing the gender gap and reducing multiple accounts,” he said.
The Future Fund’s CIO Ben Samild has announced his resignation, with his deputy to assume the role of interim CIO.
The fund has unveiled reforms to streamline death benefit payments, cut processing times, and reduce complexity.
A ratings firm has placed more prominence on governance in its fund ratings, highlighting that it’s not just about how much money a fund makes today, but whether the people running it are trustworthy, disciplined, and able to deliver for members in the future.
AMP has reached an agreement in principle to settle a landmark class action over fees charged to members of its superannuation funds, with $120 million earmarked for affected members.