Industry Super Australia (ISA) has warned against changes to superannuation product disclosure requirements as outlined in draft legislation presented in federal parliament.
The new measures require super funds to produce a public dashboard for their top 10 products, a move which ISA chief executive David Whiteley says suits the “banks and their super funds”.
Under the prospective legislation, members would be denied simple and accessible information on “thousands of investment options”, Mr Whiteley said.
“There will be no ready source of information for current or prospective members about how most of these options stack up in terms of fees or performance.
“Incongruously, the government is also seeking to remove Howard era choice of fund exemptions, while not requiring super funds to provide consumers with the information they need to make an informed decision,” he said.
Mr Whiteley said bank-owned super funds have “lobbied the government” to design a disclosure regime that puts “commercial interests ahead of the public interest”.
ISA – which first warned against the government’s product disclosure changes in January – said a product dashboard regime should include all superannuation products and investment options with no carve-outs.
It said the proposals impede the Productivity Commission's review of the super system, particularly the development of alternative models for a competitive default selection process.
“This cannot credibly be developed in the public’s best interests unless reliable, comprehensive performance data for every investment option is made openly and transparently available to regulators, independent analysts and superannuation fund members,” Mr Whiteley said.
Financial Services Council chief executive Sally Loane was unavailable for comment.
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