Self managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees are not equipped with enough quality information for good decision-making, according to Smartsuper chief executive Andrew Bloore.
However, the lack of information did not mean it was a poorly run part of the superannuation landscape about to fall over, he said.
In market downturns it is even more important to have timely and accurate information, which allows people to know which assets are the appropriate ones to sell, according to Bloore.
“How can you make decisions about things if you are doing them nine months after the end of the year, when you get your tax return?” Bloore said.
“How do you know what pensions you are paying? How do you know what your contributions are? How do you know… what you need to do with the fund if there is not good, sound information?
“As SMSF tax returns have to be done and lodged, and… independently audited, so you have trustees overlooking it, an accountant overlooking it, and an auditor overlooking it, so it actually has more regulation than small business.”
In the process of providing SMSF trustees with better information, the sector is likely to experience consolidation, Perpetual chief operating officer Eric Wang said.
“We will see consolidation, not with who puts people into SMSFs, but with who administers it at the back-end,” he said.
