Super Insights 2023: Australian superannuation industry analysis

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The Australian superannuation industry has implemented the Your Future Your Super (YFYS) regime, which commenced in November 2021. As a result, the sector is now facing a set of new and intensified challenges.

The YFYS measures mean that Australians are now ‘stapled’ to their existing super fund, rather than moving to a new employer’s preferred fund when they change jobs. This is creating a new, more competitive landscape for Australian superannuation providers.

We’ve identified three key competitive battlegrounds to describe this landscape:

1. Scale: mergers and consolidation
2. Super fund member acquisition and retention
3. Retirement

To win in each of these battlegrounds requires super funds  to have a different set of capabilities; as competition intensifies, we’re starting to see funds emerging with defined offerings and abilities aimed at these battlegrounds.

It's also interesting to observe the transformation agenda underway in many superannuation funds as they seek to build capabilities for the future, keep up with member expectations and build the resilience expected by Regulators and the community. Members are winning as a result of this competition with better outcomes as a result of funds seeking to improve long term investment performance, reduce fees for MySuper portfolios and increase focus on solutions to secure income in retirement.

There are three key battlegrounds that super funds must consider strategic priorities in this era of intensified competition.

Five new mergers were announced in calendar 2022, and at least thirteen mergers were consummated in the year 1 July 2021- 30 June 2022. Consolidation has produced a dramatic change in the superannuation landscape: as of 30 June 2022, there were three funds over $150 billion, with one of these over $250 billion. 

More superannuation funds are pursuing inorganic growth strategies and are on the lookout for a merger partner. This is a very competitive market with opportunity to negotiate better outcomes for their members.

Competition between Australian superannuation funds has intensified following the implementation of the choice regime introduced alongside stapling in the Your Future Your Super reforms. Funds are fighting to acquire and retain the same membership levels.

The retail sector, with its strong advice models, is dominant in this space. However, a shift has occurred in the 12 months since our last superannuation report: the industry super funds sector has added 3% market share in retirement phase assets at the expense of the retail sector

Returns

Following market volatility, many superannuation funds in Australia posted negative investment returns in the year to 30 June 2022, with an average return of just under -3% on the universe of funds in Super Insights.

This led to a 0.5% reduction in total superannuation assets (including self-managed super funds) from $2.814 trillion to $2.799 trillion – or from $2 trillion to $1.9 trillion excluding SMSFs.

However, that contraction was not evenly distributed, with the largest super funds in Australia – over $100 billion – being the only segment to grow during the year and smaller funds all losing assets. This was largely caused by some of the major mergers that took place throughout 2022.

Voluntary contributions

Despite industry super funds leading overall voluntary contribution inflows, it was still the retail sector that had the highest average contributions per active member. The retail sector saw an increase of 39.9% in the average member contribution, from $2,644 to $3,699. This compares to the industry sector increase of 45.5%, from $1,280 to $1,863.

The average level of voluntary contribution (salary sacrifice and personal contributions) per active member to June 2022 was $2,544, up 33% from $1,911 last year. 

Mergers

Five new mergers were announced in calendar year 2022 and at least 13 mergers were consummated in the year 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.

Funds with  +$100B in assets

There are still seven funds with more than $100 billion in assets in 2022 – the same as in 2021. However, the list of these mega-funds has changed:

• In 2021 there was one industry fund (the largest, AustralianSuper), two public sector funds and four retail funds.
• In 2022 the top seven include three industry funds, one public sector fund and three retail industry super funds.

These seven funds represent 58% of assets in the non-SMSF super industry.

These metrics and other insights and analyses can be explored in the KPMG Super Insights Dashboard, which now includes a number of new views.