ISA ads to continue despite 'bank campaign against them’

Industry Super Australia (ISA) has claimed it made changes to its adverts as a result of a campaign by bank owned funds “to avoid competition based on net investment returns” and would continue with the campaign. 

Yesterday the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that ISA would make changes to its 'Compare the Pair’ advertising campaign. The changes come after ASIC raised concerns about what constituted an 'average’ retail or industry super fund and the size and make-up of the sample set of funds used to calculate the claims in the advertising. 

ISA chief executive David Whiteley said efforts to stop the advertising campaign were driven by 'big, bank-owned funds’ “as it was part of their campaign to avoid competition based on net investment returns”. 

“This campaign has also seen the banks lobby to reduce consumer protections in financial advice and introduce a 'free for all’ in default super where banks “leverage” their business-banking relationships to become the default super for employees,” he said. 

Whiteley also stated the advertising campaign, which had been running in various forms for nearly ten years, would continue with the included changes which resulted from a “cooperative review with the regulator”. 

He said that as part of this review ISA had volunteered to add spoken and written disclaimers and make more prominent the details of the retail super funds being compared to industry super funds. 

Whiteley said ISA would continue to use the modelling provided by research agency SuperRatings which compares the average net performance of the 15 industry super funds within ISA and 63 retail super funds tracked by SuperRatings with a 10 year performance history. 

SuperRatings chief executive Nathan MacPhee said there was no selection bias in the choice of the 63 retail funds but that they all had a consistent 10 year return history. 

McPhee said the list of funds represented an expanded comparison set from 10 years ago when the original ads compared 16 retail and industry funds and that ASIC had not questioned the modelling in any way, which also covered one, three, five and seven year results.

After a request from Money Management McPhee offered the list of funds used in the comparison, which is as follows: 

Industry Fund and Investment Option with 10 Year History 

• AustralianSuper - Balanced Option 
• AustSafe Super - Balanced 
• CareSuper - Balanced 
• Cbus - Growth 
• Energy Super - Balanced Option 
• First Super - Balanced 
• HESTA - Core Pool 
• HOSTPLUS - Balanced 
• legalsuper - Growth 
• LUCRF Super - Balanced 
• Media Super - Balanced 
• MTAA Super - Balanced 
• NGS Super - Diversified 
• Rei Super - Trustee Super Balanced 
• TWUSUPER - Balanced 

Retail Fund and Investment Option with 10 Year History 

• AMG Universal Emp - Balanced 
• AMG Universal Pers - Balanced Unit 
• AMP CS - AMP Balanced Growth 
• AMP FLS - AMP Balanced Growth 
• AMP SL - SuperLeader Growth 
• ANZ OneAnswer Pers - OnePath Managed Growth NCF 
• ANZ Super Adv - OnePath Managed Growth 
• Aon MT - Balanced - Active 
• Aon MT Pers - Balanced - Active 
• Apex CCF Super - Retirement Growth Option 
• Apex Super - Retirement Growth Option 
• ARC Corp - ARC Balanced Growth Fund 
• ARC Pers - ARC Balanced Growth Fund 
• ASGARD Emp Super - SMA Balanced 
• Asgard SMAF - SMA Balanced 
• Aust Ethical Pers - Balanced 
• Bendigo Emp - Bendigo Balanced Wholesale Fund 
• Bendigo Pers - Bendigo Balanced Wholesale Fund 
• BT Bus Super - Westpac Balanced Growth 
• BT Lifetime Pers - BT Multi-manager Balanced CF 
• BT Lifetime Super Emp - BT Multi-manager Balanced 
• BT SuperWrap Pers - BT Wholesale Balanced Returns Fund 
• Clearview - Assertive 
• CFS FC Emp - FirstChoice Moderate 
• CFS FC Pers - FirstChoice Moderate 
• Colonial FS RO - Diversified Option 
• Dominion Pers - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• EquitySuper Emp - Investment Engine 3 
• EquitySuper Pers - Investment Engine 3 
• FSP Super - BlackRock WS Balanced Fund 
• Macquarie SuperOptions - Macquarie Balanced 
• MAP - Balanced Pool 
• Matrix Super Plan Emp - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• Matrix Super Plan Pers - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• Mentor Emp - Ventura Growth 70 Fund 
• Mentor Pers - Ventura Growth 70 Fund 
• Mercer PS Super Cat.1 - Growth Model Choice 
• Mercer Super Trust - Mercer Growth 
• Mercer Super Trust Pers - Mercer Growth 
• Millennium Emp - OnePath Wholesale Managed Growth Trust 
• Millennium Per - OnePath Wholesale Managed Growth Trust 
• MLC MKey - Horizon 4 - Balanced Portfolio 
• MLC MKey Pers - Horizon 4 - Balanced Portfolio 
• OnePath Corp - OptiMix Balanced 
• OnePath Integra - OnePath Managed Growth 
• OnePath OneAns Pers - OnePath Managed Growth NCF 
• OnePath OptiMix Super - OptiMix Balanced NCF 
• Optimum - Ibbotson Growth Trust 
• Optimum Pers - Ibbotson Growth Trust 
• Perpetual WealthFocus - Perpetual Balanced Growth Fund 
• Perpetual Select Pers - Balanced 
• Southern Cross Emp - OnePath Wholesale Managed Growth Trust 
• Southern Cross Pers - OnePath Wholesale Managed Growth Trust 
• Spectrum Super - IOOF MultiMix Balanced Growth Trust 
• Spectrum Super Personal - IOOF MultiMix Balanced Growth Trust 
• Strategy Super Plan Emp - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• Strategy Super Plan Pers - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• SD Bus - Multi-manager Balanced 
• Wealthtrac Emp - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• Wealthtrac Pers - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• Wealthtrac Super MT - S & RO - Russell Balanced Fund Class C 
• Westpac Lifetime - Balanced Growth NCF 
• Zurich Super - Zurich Managed Growth CF