ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer said ASIC was concerned that consumers could be misled by the superannuation choice advertisements which ran from February to May this year.
Under the agreement with ASIC, the ISA will ensure that future versions of the campaign clarify the terms ‘Average Retail Super Fund’ and ‘Average Industry Super Fund’ by providing details about the samples used in the comparison, including the number of retail and industry funds in the samples.
The ISA will also clarify a voiceover noting that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
In addition, ISA has agreed that any future iterations of the advertising will be consistent in terms of the time period selected for the comparison.
"ASIC wants consumers to be aware that when deciding to change their superannuation fund, they should consider a number of factors including the fees, the services and benefits offered and the performance of the funds," said Mr Tanzer.
"The introduction of MySuper has produced a new generation of low-cost superannuation products across the industry. ASIC is closely monitoring advertising in the industry to ensure it presents the necessary detail so that consumers are able to make informed decisions about their superannuation in today’s market," he said.
"ASIC will continue to work cooperatively with the superannuation industry – including retail and industry funds – so that any concerns are resolved quickly. In addressing these types of concerns, ASIC will look to find a balance between clear, accurate and unambiguous advertising and appropriate marketing by the funds of the benefits of their products," said Mr Tanzer.
"We are pleased that ISA has worked cooperatively with ASIC and put forward a suitable proposal to address our concerns," he said.
Update: Since the ASIC announcement, ISA has defended its advertising campaign, vowing to continue its ‘Compare the pair’ project.
In a statement issued yesterday, ISA stood its ground, claiming that “Australian consumers will still be able to ‘Compare the pair’ to look at the performance of super funds”.
The ISA statement also levels blame against the “big, bank-owned funds” for colluding to “get ‘Compare the pair’ off the air”, arguing that the retail funds sector would “better serve Australians by lifting their investment returns”.
