Superannuation funds will not only have to submit investment performance data for their MySuper options, but also for their choice and life-cycle investment options, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has said in a draft release of reporting standards.
Under SRF 537.1, reporting on investment returns would also need to be completed for select choice options, APRA said.
The prudential regulator said a select choice investment option meant an investment option that was a choice option which had more than $50 million in assets under management, or which represented more than 5 per cent of the total assets of the registrable superannuation entity.
Funds also need to report the performance of choice options where the option is underlying defined benefits interests, or where the option is underlying reserves.
Initially, APRA had flagged that funds would only have to report the investment performance of MySuper products to the prudential regulator.
The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) welcomed the additional measures, saying they formed an improvement on the whole-of-fund data previously collected by APRA.
"We hope the new requirements for collection of data and the reporting of returns at investment option level will put an end to the controversy that has surrounded APRA's superannuation return figures in the past," AIST chief executive Fiona Reynolds said.
"AIST believes that - as the industry regulator - APRA is best placed to collect and provide data on superannuation fund returns, as it is independent and free of any conflicts of interest."
The Financial Services Council (FSC) said the new reporting standards marked a significant improvement in the provision of meaningful data.
"This initiative from APRA is critical in the provision of transparent and meaningful data for all Australians on the performance of their super funds," FSC chief executive John Brogden said.
The FSC described the current whole-of-fund reporting data by APRA as misleading.
"Presently, the data compares whole-of-fund data rather than investment options," Brogden said.
"People don't invest in a fund, they invest in a particular option such as growth, balanced or defensive."
AIST added that it would make a submission to APRA on the new requirements as it still had concerns over the new risk measures included in the reporting standards.
The institute is of the opinion these measures give only an insight into short-term volatility and not into long-term asset allocation risks.
As a result, members could invest too conservatively and not reach their retirement goals.
"AIST will be making a submission to APRA on the revised reporting requirements where it intends to again raise its concerns about the proposed standard risk measure (SRM)," Reynolds said.
"AIST remains concerned that the proposed SRM could lead members to make sub-optimal decisions as it does not take into consideration important issues such as member age.
"What is a risky to a 55 year old is not necessarily risky to a 20 year old, and a one-size-fits-all approach to risk may not achieve the desired results."
