This report focuses on a sample of Australian superannuation funds to gain a better understanding of the factors that influences the fees that they charge. We examine how fund size, asset allocation, risk category and fund type influence investment, administration and total fees. We find that industry funds charge an investment fee that is over...

There is considerable debate about the size of fees charged by superannuation funds. This paper investigates both investment fees and administration fees and shows that there are economically valid reasons why most investment fees are set at their current level. Our results show that on average, retail funds are charging both higher investment fees and...

Using a comprehensive dataset of Australian superannuation funds, we examine the relationship between investment fees and fund performance. We find that the most expensive funds produce significantly higher after-fee raw returns than the cheapest funds. The findings suggest that retirement balances will not be worse off if superannuation investors are to hold the more expensive...

The Government must act to prevent excessive fees taking at least $40,000 from the superannuation accounts of millions of Australians at retirement. The report recommends that government reduce fees by running a tender to select superannuation funds to manage the accounts of more than nine million Australians who choose a default fund through their employer.

Australia’s MySuper default superannuation funds are compared against New Zealand’s range of KiwSaver funds. Some key points of contrast include: the relative maturity and larger balances of the Australian system; the majorityof MySuper providers are not for profit, whereas KiwiSaver is dominated by for profit providers; MySuper funds use a much broader range of assets...