Sherry calls for publication of super fees

The Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Senator Nick Sherry, has signaled that he would not only like to see the publication of superannuation fund performance data but also the fees that the funds charge.

The minister made his views clear at a recent Parliamentary Committee hearing at which the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) outlined some of the limitations which would apply to the publication of superannuation performance league tables.

However, commenting on the questioning of fees and the manner in which they impacted on investment returns to members, Sherry said he thought that the publication of long-term performance data accompanied by fee information was an excellent idea.

“I think it is an excellent idea. I think the publication of long-term performance accompanied by the fees that are actually charged, which in my view are excessive in some areas, would be a very useful contribution to the public policy debate about default funds, and any other fund for that matter."

The minister’s comments on superannuation fees came at the same time as the deputy chairman of APRA, Ross Jones, made clear that the regulator would be heavily reliant on information provided by fund trustees for the data which would go to making up fund performance league tables.

He said a superannuation fund’s trustee board was the principal entity that made investment decisions and decided on the investment options that were put to members.

Jones said under the legislation, trustees had a responsibility to ensure the options that were made available were appropriate.