The Australian superannuation industry is continuing to consolidate, with the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data showing the number of registrable superannuation entity licensees had reduced to just 165 by the end of last year.
But the APRA data also reveals that the majority of superannuation assets are held by the top 20 funds.
It found that, as at June last year, the top 20 APRA regulated registrable superannuation entities (RSEs) accounted for 64 per cent of total assets and 58 per cent of member accounts.
However, the APRA analysis argues this does not represent the development of market concentration.
It said that despite continued consolidation, the superannuation industry in Australia was considered to be much less concentrated compared to other APRA—regulated industries such as banking or insurance.
The regulator pointed to the fact that, as at December 2014, the four major banks held 78 per cent of total industry assets while, in the general insurance sector, the four largest insurance groups accounted for approximately 75 per cent of the direct personal and commercial lines markets, based on gross earned premium in 2014.
Equally, it said the four largest life insurers held 80 per cent of total assets as at June 2014.
