The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has for the first time published key performance data on superannuation retirement products, including product fee structure, investment strategies, and associated strategic asset allocations.
The inaugural publication captures key performance data for 600 multisector investment options where the trustee sets the investment strategy or manages the investments.
APRA said the new data would increase transparency regarding investment returns, fees and costs, and investment strategies at a product level.
The addition of the new data is the latest enhancement to APRA’s superannuation publications, with the regulator continuing to focus on driving better outcomes for members in retirement.
APRA deputy chair, Margaret Cole, said with more and more Australians approaching and entering retirement, there was a critical need for more detailed retirement product information to help foster greater competition and innovation.
The new data encompasses investment returns net of fees across retirement products for member balances of $50,000, $100,000, $250,000, and $500,000.
Across the $250,000 balance range, net returns for the March quarter ranged from -5.06 per cent to 13.28 per cent, with an average return of 1.95 per cent.
On an annual basis, net returns across the $250,000 member balance category ranged from -7.34 per cent to 37.95 per cent, with an average net return of 9.77 per cent.
As part of its Quarterly Superannuation Industry Publication, APRA also outlined that the average member account balance for choice transition to retirement accounts was $250,000, while the average balance of choice retirement accounts was $362,000. The average balance of defined benefit accounts was $199,000.
For accumulation accounts, the average MySuper account was $71,000, while the average choice accumulation account was $132,000.
The latest APRA data for the March quarter revealed that there is $2.54 trillion in total member assets including $1,074 billion in MySuper products, $1,330 billion in choice products, and $141 billion in defined benefit products.
Members in the 75 to 84 age group hold the largest average member balance at $288,900.
