ISA accused of publishing “false and misleading” information
A recent briefing note by Industry Super Australia (ISA), in which it claimed that self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) returned 1.2 per cent less than industry funds, contains false and misleading information, chartered accountant Wayne Wanders has alleged.
Wanders said that ISA were “comparing apples with oranges” by comparing returns reported by Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and industry funds to SMSFs, as they former are exclusive of member’s insurance premiums.
The analysis by ISA found that SMSFs with balances under $2 million were outperformed by both APRA-regulated and industry superannuation funds consistently in the five years to 2016.
“It would take ISA less than five minutes of reading the Glossary attached to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) publication on which this briefing note is based, to determine that the returns reported by the ATO in its analysis of SMSF performance are net of member’s insurance premiums,” he said.
“This is either an example of poor research and analysis by ISA, or a case of deliberate false and misleading reporting.”
Wanders warned that should ISA, or any of its members, include claims that industry funds outperform SMSFs in any of their advertising material, they would risk a serious formal complaint being made against them for misleading and deceptive advertising with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Advertising Standards Bureau.
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