Australia’s superannuation sector is being held back by its slow adoption of technology, Financial Services Council chief executive, John Brogden believes.
While super has been “working well” and “delivering huge benefits” to the Federal Government and the financial sector, Brogden said IT could boost those benefits even further.
“By and large the superannuation sector is effectively allocating capital back into the Australian financial system,” he said.
“Australia’s savings rate is three times higher than it would have been without superannuation. Today, Australia’s superannuation sector is worth $1.8 trillion, it will move to $3 trillion in 2025 and to $5.5 trillion by 2030.
“Our industry hasn’t positioned itself to fully take advantage of technology. However, this is changing as super funds want to remain innovative and competitive.
“Over the past few years, the super industry has been focused on compliance. This focus is shifting to innovating through technology.”
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.