Superannuation funds are bracing themselves for poor end of financial year results due to the stockmarket volatility of the last seven months. The stockmarket has lost around 20 percent of its value since November 2007, erasing an estimated $50 billion value from super investments. Funds expect returns of between minus two to minus 13 percent.
Following what is likely to be the worst return for 20 years, the Industry Super Network (ISN), the association for industry super fund, wants standardised returns reporting and a comparative table so investors can compare performances.
ISN executive director David Whitely says just as unit prices are published daily, superannuation returns should be published annually. “There is a need to improve transparency, and information about superannuation would serve to increase engagement in the general community,” he remarked. “Importantly, publication of five and 10 year numbers emphasises the long term nature of super and builds confidence in the system.”
