Member communications is the function superannuation funds would be most likely to insource, according to the results of a new survey.
The EISS/Super Review survey, conducted during the recent Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) national conference, revealed that nearly 80 per cent of respondents believed member communications was the function most needing to be conducted in-house.
Although many funds have moved to take investment management in-house, the survey suggested that superannuation fund trustees and executives saw other functions as being of higher priority.
Asked which functions they believed superannuation funds should bring in-house, the survey revealed that only 25.6 per cent saw investment management as being a priority, compared to 79.40 for member communications and 35.8 per cent for both financial planning and administration.
Importantly, the survey also found that most respondents did not believe that superannuation funds had become too reliant on outsource solutions.
Asked whether superannuation funds had become too reliant on outsource solutions such as investment management, administration and financial planning, nearly 67 per cent of respondents answered ‘no’.
Vanguard Super has reported strong returns across most of its investment options, attributed to a “low-cost, index-based approach”.
The fund has achieved double-digit returns amid market volatility, reinforcing the value of long-term investment strategies for its members.
Australian super funds notched a third consecutive year of strong returns, with the median balanced option delivering an estimated 10.1 per cent over the 2024-25 financial year, but an economist has warned that the rally may be harder to sustain as key risks gather pace.
AustralianSuper has reported a 9.52 per cent return for its Balanced super option for the 2024–25 financial year, as markets delivered another year of strong performance despite the complex investing environment.
Is there any insight as to why funds would choose to insource comms - do they feel that they have the capabilities in house, is there a lack of quality outsourcing options, cost efficiency, etc?