Australia warns $3.2 trillion pension fund industry to lift systems investment

By Scott Murdoch

SYDNEY, Feb 4 (Reuters) – Australia’s corporate regulator has warned the nation’s A$4.5 trillion ($3.16 trillion) pension fund industry it needs to invest more in systems and technology to better prepare for the future and avoid becoming troubled like stock market operator ASX.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner Simone Constant said the pension fund industry, known locally as superannuation, was on track to be worth A$6 trillion by 2030.

At that size, she said, it would be larger than Australia’s banking system and is an increasingly important part of the country’s financial system.

However, Constant said some pension funds needed greater investment to increase their governance, skills and operations as more workers retire and draw down on their pensions.

“Look at the ASX for a cautionary tale on what happens when your investment and aspiration doesn’t match your role in the system,” Constant said in a speech to the Conexus Chair Forum.

“The ASX is one of the most critical limbs of Australia’s financial services, but it has failed to deliver on its promise to its customers because it has looked backward, not forward, whilst seeing its issues separately rather than listening to customers and bringing them together, for best practice.”

ASIC in December imposed an additional capital charge of A$150 million on ASX in response to an inquiry launched in June after years of tensions over a failed software upgrade and repeated trade-processing glitches. ASIC has questioned the ASX’s ability to provide secure and resilient critical market infrastructure.

The ASX declined to comment to Reuters.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) Deputy Chair Margaret Cole said the agency wanted superannuation and wealth platform trustees to improve their governance practices in light of the recent collapses of managed investment schemes Shield and First Guardian.

“The collapses exposed deficiencies across the system and caused financial harm to members who had transferred retirement savings into the products,” Cole said.

“Our recent thematic review of platform trustees identified examples of weak practices in the investment governance of investment options offered on platforms, including investment option onboarding and monitoring.”

Australia’s pension fund industry has previously been put on notice to speed up preparations for an estimated 2.5 million people due to retire in the next decade.

($1 = 1.4255 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Scott Murdoch; Editing by Jamie Freed)