Super industry’s multi-billion dollar payroll

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has confirmed the degree to which the superannuation sector represents a multi-billion dollar service industry.

At the same time as revealing the $2 trillion scale of the superannuation industry as at 30 June, last year, the regulator also revealed just how much is being provided to those companies and individuals who earn their living from the industry.

It said that expenses paid to service providers totalled $9.1 billion for the year ended 30 June 2015, with 85 per cent ($7.7 billion) paid to external service providers and 15 per cent ($1.4 billion) paid to internal service providers.

Of the $2 trillion in total superannuation assets, APRA said that $1,246.0 billion were held by APRA-regulated superannuation entities and $589.9 billion were held by self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), which are regulated by the Australian Taxation Office.

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It said the remaining $187.2 billion comprised exempt public sector superannuation schemes ($131.1 billion) and the balance of life office statutory funds ($56.1 billion).

It said that at 30 June 2015, small funds which include SMSFs, small APRA funds and single-member approved deposit funds accounted for 29.3 per cent of total assets.

In the APRA-regulated space, it said retail funds held 26.5 per cent of total assets, industry funds held 21.5 per cent, public sector funds held 17.3 per cent, and corporate funds held 2.7 per cent.

The data revealed there were 155 APRA-regulated registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees with 242 funds with more than four members under their trusteeship and that these funds had $1,243.9 trillion in assets and 28.0 million member accounts.

It noted that there were 1,130 directorships on boards of APRA-regulated trustees at 30 June 2015, with females accounting for 26.8 per cent, and males accounting for 73.2 per cent of directorships. The average board size was seven directors at 30 June 2015, with average director remuneration of $40,884 per annum.