Homepage Roy Morgan Research newsroom
Register as BUSINESS Register as PR AGENCY Register as JOURNALIST

Major Retail Superannuation Fund members less satisfied than those of Industry Funds

Announcement posted by Roy Morgan Research 06 Jul 2011

Roy Morgan Research

14/06/2011
Customers of the Big Six Retail Funds are less satisfied with the investment performance of their superannuation than Industry Fund members.In the six months to March 2011, 52.1% of industry fund members were satisfied with the investment performance of their super, while only 46.8% of members of the Big Six Retail Funds (the big four banks, AXA and AMP) were satisfied. These are the latest results from the Roy Morgan Research Superannuation Satisfaction Report.

Over the last five years, Industry Fund members have had higher levels of satisfaction with the performance of their funds, compared to customers of the Big Six Retail Funds. After the global financial crisis satisfaction with the superannuation performance, as would be expected, declined considerably through to late 2009. This decline was more severe for the Big Six Retail Funds with the result that they fell further behind the Industry Funds. Satisfaction levels for both groups however, remain down from the high recorded in the six months to January 2008, showing continued consumer concern on how their investments are performing.


Satisfaction with Financial Performance of Superannuation – Industry & Retail

Purchase the Roy Morgan Superannuation Satisfaction Report
Source: Roy Morgan Research April 2006 – March 2011. Average six month sample n = 18,428.


For the six months to March 2011, the top six individual performers were industry funds, with Catholic Super rated the highest on 67.8%, followed by Health Super (57.8%) and CBUS (55.3%).

The best performing amongst the big six retail funds was the Commonwealth Group with 51.9%, followed by ANZ (49.0%) and NAB Group (47.2%). The poorest performer was the Westpac Group with 41.4%.


Purchase the Roy Morgan Superannuation Satisfaction Report
Source: Roy Morgan Research October 2010 – March 2011, n = 17, 938. Base: Australian populated aged 14+with work based or personal superannuation.*Includes Industry Funds not shown.


Norman Morris, Industry Communications Director, Roy Morgan Research says:

“After showing good levels of improvement in early to mid-2010 following the end of the Global Financial Crisis, overall consumer satisfaction levels for superannuation have levelled out in 2011, demonstrating that consumers are still concerned with the financial performance of one of their most important assets.

“The fact that the retail funds continue to trail Industry Funds, at a time when there is much discussion on the remuneration method for planners, should lead to a re-focusing on consumers and who they perceive as being better performers. Our research has shown that people who are unhappy with their superannuation’s performance are more likely to switch their funds, and with the industry funds continuing their advertising assault, the retail funds are likely to continue to face ongoing pressure.”