ASIC conducted a review of MySuper product dashboards by assessing a number of dashboards across the superannuation industry, based on the requirements set out in the information sheet for superannuation trustees.
ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer said although “trustees have shown a good level of compliance”, there are still aspects requiring further attention, such as ensuring the dashboard is prominently positioned and readily accessible; that it only includes information set out in the mandatory provisions; and that it addresses all mandatory elements.
In a statement on the ASIC website, the corporate regulator said that if members are required to navigate through several pages or search the site in order to view the product dashboard, then the trustee has failed the accessibility requirement.
“The product dashboard should be able to be seen readily by a user of the website that has no prior knowledge of the concept of the product dashboard,” said ASIC.
“The inclusion of optional information, such as asset allocation information, within the product dashboard has the potential to compromise the ability of users to compare across multiple product dashboards,” ASIC added, flagging the importance of only including information in the parameters of the dashboard required by the mandatory provisions.
ASIC noted, however, that additional information provided outside the dashboard but in close proximity, including graphs, asset allocation charts, investment risk and a glossary of terms may be helpful for users in understanding the mandatory information listed.
“The overall impression formed from the mandatory elements and the optional disclosure around the product dashboard should not be confusing, otherwise the trustee may be engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct,” said ASIC.
The review also showed some trustees omitting past returns and return target-past return comparison from the product dashboard in cases where there is no predecessor product.
“In this situation, our preferred approach is for the trustee to include all elements with an accompanying explanation to the effect that no past return information is available because the MySuper product has not been in existence for a full financial year and there was no predecessor product,” the corporate regulator said.
ASIC also said each mandatory element must be addressed separately.
“For example, past return percentages should not be shown in the return target-past returns comparison graph,” said ASIC.
Trustees were also reminded that “it is an offence for a trustee to fail to publish a product dashboard at all, or to publish a product dashboard that is out of date, omits required information or otherwise is misleading or deceptive”.
