People are becoming increasingly satisfied with the performance of their superannuation funds, which has led to a downturn in the number of people switching between funds, according to the latest superannuation choice survey released by Roy Morgan Research.
What should be of concern, however, is that only 25 per cent of people switching their superannuation are getting advice from a financial planner or accountant, albeit that the big six financial planning groups dominate the provision of advice on switching.
Equally concerning for some sections of the financial planning industry is the survey’s findings that people were likely to be more satisfied with products recommended by financial planners outside of the big six financial planning groups.
The survey found that not only had the rate of superannuation switching stabilised but that the number of people who were very pleased with the performance of their funds had increased.
What the survey has also revealed, however, is that the major institutions are doing well in terms of retaining client funds across a range of products, including superannuation.
The Roy Morgan research specifically mentioned the National Australia Bank (NAB) and its financial services arm, MLC, as standing out among the major banks in having the highest superannuation share of wallet.
It said NAB/MLC also had the greatest penetration of superannuation products among its traditional banking customers — something that indicated a good cross-selling performance.
The research also revealed some interesting attitudinal variations between superannuation fund memberships, with members of retail master trusts more likely to switch due to concerns about investment performance and fee and charges, while members of industry funds are more likely to switch because they are changing jobs.
