APRA

While APRA “doesn’t feel the need to start each year with a shiny new set of initiatives”, it’s still planning on scrutinising super funds’ valuation practices and giving more “sub-scale” funds the nudge to merge in 2023.

The CEO of AustralianSuper says the Morrison Government doesn’t get enough credit for introducing the YFYS reforms, and that funds need to stop arguing over its detail and get on with the business of performing against the benchmarks.

Passing the performance test is no excuse for not merging, according to APRA, and the prudential regulator will still be giving small funds the nudge to consolidate where they feel their size isn’t sustainable.

The prudential regulator’s superannuation czar says it has no view on whether smaller funds can survive – but that funds must continue to innovate to avoid becoming “footnotes in financial history”.

Labor and the superannuation industry are still running their victory lap, but concerns around disclosure and consolidation loom large in the background.

Fewer funds failed the Your Future Your Super (YFYS) test than last year – but plenty of passes have come from managing to the constraints of that test.

APRA has issued Vanguard a superannuation licence as it prepares to launch a disruptive play for Australia’s gargantuan retirement savings pool.

The Albanese Government has begun to explore the potential negative impacts of super fund consolidation. The question is whether a super fund can ever be too big to fail.

“We believe in our story,” says Julie Lander. The CareSuper CEO chats to Greg Bright about mergers, diseconomies and spending money.

“The industry should not be happy to simply sit somewhere in the middle… Increased transparency will drive increased analysis and action. If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”