Industry funds winning choice battle

Fewer people are willing to change superannuation funds now than before the introduction of choice, but almost one in four of those who do switch appear headed for an industry fund.

In what is being interpreted as a significant endorsement of industry funds’ advertising campaign, 22 per cent of 1,500 people surveyed by ACNielsen said they would opt for one of the union-backed funds if they did transfer their super.

This compares with just 9 per cent who indicated they were interested in moving to an industry fund when a similar survey was conducted last September.

The industry funds’ advertising campaign was the subject of controversy when it had to be altered after other sections of the industry complained that it was misleading.

Despite the controversy, ACNielsen associate director Glenn Wealands said the campaign appeared to have lifted the profile of industry funds.

The survey also found that 93 per cent of people were aware of the choice of fund legislation — an increase of 48 percentage points from last September. However, most respondents (51 per cent) said they were unlikely to or would not change funds, up 3 percentage points since the last survey.

Meanwhile, research house Lonsec has issued its first ever report into an industry super fund, giving the $7 billion Australian Retirement Fund’s multi-manager products a recommended rating.

Lonsec general manager Grant Kennaway said the research house would extend its reporting to other industry funds, adding that the union funds would have to become accustomed to a greater level of scrutiny from researchers.