APRA data indicates co-contribution gaining traction
The Government’s new superannuation co-contribution regime appears to be gaining real traction, with the latest Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) data pointing to a healthy 17.6 per cent lift in member contributions during the September quarter.
The APRA Superannuation Trends data for the September quarter released this week not only reveals the lift in member contributions but the continued growth of small superannuation funds, including self managed arrangements.
The APRA data shows that while all segments of the superannuation industry continued to grow during the September quarter of last year, the small funds sector registered the fastest growth at 4.8 per cent and assets building to total $143 billion.
Total superannuation assets increased by 2.8 per cent during the September quarter to stand at $648.9 billion.
The second fastest growing sector was industry funds, where assets grew by 4.6 per cent to total $75.2 billion, while retail funds and public sector funds grew by a much more modest 1.9 per cent.
Despite the rapid growth in the small funds sector, the retail sector continues to dominate, boasting 33 per cent of total assets or $214.9 billion, compared to the 22 per cent ($143 billion) held by small funds, and 19.1 per cent ($129 billion) held by public sector funds.
Corporate funds account for 11.6 per cent of total superannuation assets ($75.2 billion), while industry funds account for 9.1 per cent ($59.3 billion).
The strength in the Australian share market was also reflected in the APRA data which showed that equities and units in trusts demonstrated the largest rate of increase, growing by 5.2 per cent over the quarter, with cash and deposits increasing by just 3.8 per cent.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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