Superannuation

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APRA’s latest performance test has done more than name and shame lagging super options; it has rewired investment strategy, compressed fees and accelerated consolidation across the $3.7 trillion sector. With the government now launching a formal review, the stakes are moving from compliance to competitiveness. This case study dissects how leading funds responded, what changed on the ground, and where the next set of winners will emerge. For boards and CIOs, the lesson is clear: treat the test as an operating system, not a scorecard.

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Context: The benchmark that moved the market

Australia’s Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) performance test compares each super option’s net returns against a reference portfolio derived from asset-class benchmarks over an eight-year window. Fail by 50 basis points or more and the product must notify members; fail twice and it closes to new money. While the methodology improved transparency and member outcomes, it also introduced powerful incentives that rippled through asset allocation, product design and cost structures.

The latest test results reignited concerns from funds and independent experts about unintended consequences—especially the disincentive to allocate to long-duration or emerging sectors that may not track the benchmark closely in the short to medium term. In response, the federal government has announced a formal review to identify and remove barriers that may limit investment in national priorities such as housing and renewable energy. The agenda has shifted from whether the test works to how it can work better.

Decision: Treat the test as a design constraint, not a compliance chore

Leading funds reframed the test from a box-ticking exercise to a core design constraint alongside liquidity, valuation discipline and long-term risk. This pivot addressed four strategic questions:

• Business impact: How do we deliver net-of-fee outperformance when measured against an explicit benchmark, without sacrificing long-horizon returns?
• Competitive advantage: Can we exploit tracking error intelligently—running “near-benchmark” in public markets while reserving active risk budget for high-conviction, scalable private assets?
• Implementation reality: What must change in portfolio construction, cost management and data systems to manage to the test daily, not annually?
• Future outlook: How could a reviewed test alter benchmarks, lookback periods or risk adjustments, and how do we pre-position?

Implementation: The operating model behind passing—and winning

Funds that built durable advantage under the test made five operational shifts:

1. Dual-lens portfolio construction. Every investment decision is assessed under two lenses: (1) long-term total returns; and (2) YFYS benchmark relative performance and tracking error. CIOs introduced position-sizing guardrails that cap benchmark-relative risk in listed equities and fixed income, while allocating active risk to where the expected alpha per basis point of tracking error is highest.
2. Cost-to-alpha discipline. With performance measured net of administration and investment fees, funds launched procurement resets and index implementation upgrades. Common moves included transition to lower-cost index mandates, securities lending income, and internalisation of factor sleeves. For many options, shaving 5–10 bps from implementation costs is equivalent to a year’s worth of alpha in efficient markets.
3. Private markets recalibration. Unlisted assets remain strategic, but pacing and valuation governance tightened. Funds prioritised brown-to-green infrastructure, core-plus real estate with inflation linkage, and operating renewables with contracted revenues—assets whose cashflow resilience is easier to evidence under the test’s measurement cadence.
4. Product rationalisation and M&A. Underperforming or subscale options were closed or merged, reducing duplicative cost. The sector’s consolidation wave—producing mega-funds such as Australian Retirement Trust and scaled platforms at AustralianSuper and Aware Super—has been accelerated by the test’s economics of scale.
5. Data, risk and member communications. Daily benchmark-relative dashboards, enhanced SAA/TAA attribution, and member-friendly explanations of performance versus benchmark became baseline. The goal: fewer surprises, faster course correction and clearer accountability.

Results: What changed—in numbers and behaviour

While APRA’s early rounds flagged sizable underperformance in some MySuper offerings, the number of failing MySuper products has fallen materially since the test’s inception in 2021, even as the regime expanded to Choice options where failure rates were initially higher. The market response has been tangible:

• Fee compression: MySuper administration and investment costs have continued to trend down by multiple basis points since 2021, reflecting scale benefits and sharper procurement—directly improving net member returns.
• Scale and resilience: A series of mergers has created funds with >A$100bn–A$300bn in FUM, unlocking lower unit costs, broader internal capabilities and deeper co-investment access.
• Sharpened liquid-market efficiency: Many options have reduced unintended style bets and minimised tracking error in listed exposures, reallocating risk budget to high-conviction areas where information advantages are more durable.
• Portfolio liquidity and governance: More disciplined liquidity ladders and valuation oversight, especially for unlisted assets, reduced the risk of benchmark-relative drawdown surprises.

The behavioural result is more predictable performance relative to the test, with fewer “left-tail” outcomes. At the same time, critics argue that benchmark pressure can nudge portfolios towards “benchmark hugging” unless offset by disciplined active risk budgeting.

Technical deep dive: How the test drives decisions

The YFYS test assigns each option an asset-class mix and compares net performance against reference indices, over an expanding window up to eight years. Underperformance of 50 bps or more constitutes a fail. Because the reference portfolio is transparent, the test effectively prices tracking error. Practical implications include:

• Time horizon friction: Investments with J-curve effects (greenfield infrastructure, early-stage renewables, emerging managers) can struggle to keep pace over shorter windows.
• Valuation cadence: Infrequent valuation of unlisted assets can produce timing mismatches versus listed benchmarks unless governance is robust.
• Cost asymmetry: Every basis point of fee is a permanent drag against a benchmark that assumes low-cost exposure.

Market context and policy direction: What a review could change

The government’s review—framed around enabling capital for housing and the energy transition—could refine benchmarks, extend lookback periods, or introduce risk-sensitive adjustments that recognise genuine diversification and long-duration value creation. Industry submissions (including from large industry funds that have advocated reform) highlight opportunities to:

• Recognise the role of unlisted and nation-building assets through more calibrated risk treatment and valuation guidance.
• Reduce cliff effects from a single pass/fail line via confidence intervals or traffic-light gradings.
• Maintain pressure on underperformers while avoiding incentives that homogenise portfolios.

Globally, the direction of travel is consistent: the UK’s emerging Value for Money framework and heightened fiduciary scrutiny in the US both push for clearer member outcomes, lower costs and transparent benchmarking. Australia remains at the frontier—its choices now will shape global practice.

Lessons: A playbook for boards and CIOs

1. Run a two-speed investment engine. Keep listed exposures near the benchmark to preserve test certainty; concentrate active risk where conviction and structural edges are strongest.
2. Industrialise cost advantage. A perpetual 5–10 bps cost edge compounds meaningfully. Treat fees as design choices—internalise where scale and capability warrant, outsource ruthlessly where they do not.
3. Institutionalise liquidity and valuation governance. Align pacing, revaluation frequency and disclosure with the test cycle to avoid avoidable tracking-error penalties.
4. Rationalise product shelves. Prune subscale or overlapping options; where member interests are better served, pursue mergers to unlock scale economics.
5. Pre-position for reform. Scenario-test portfolios under plausible review outcomes (longer lookback, risk adjustments, revised benchmarks). Build optionality in housing and renewables pipelines so capital can ramp quickly if constraints ease.

The performance test has already lifted the floor on member outcomes. The next frontier is lifting the ceiling—rewarding funds that can deliver long-horizon value without tripping short-horizon constraints. Early movers that embed the test into their operating system will not just pass; they’ll outperform.

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• Yes

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APRA’s latest performance test has done more than name and shame lagging super options; it has rewired investment strategy, compressed fees and accelerated consolidation across the $3.7 trillion sector. With the government now launching a formal review, the stakes are moving from compliance to competitiveness. This case study dissects how leading funds responded, what changed on the ground, and where the next set of winners will emerge. For boards and CIOs, the lesson is clear: treat the test as an operating system, not a scorecard.

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APRA’s latest performance test results have reignited a structural debate: can Australia hold funds to account while still backing the nation’s long-horizon investment needs? With the government signalling a review to remove ‘unnecessary obstacles’ to investment in housing and other nation-building assets, trustees face strategic choices that go beyond benchmark arithmetic. This case study traces the test’s evolution, the business impacts already visible in product closures and fee discipline, and the decision points that will shape capital allocation across a $3.8–$3.9 trillion system. The outcome will reset competitive dynamics in superannuation for a decade.

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Case Study: APRA’s Superannuation Performance Test – From blunt instrument to smarter accountability?

Context: A powerful lever with unintended consequences

Since 2021, the Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) performance test has been the most consequential piece of prudential engineering in Australian retirement savings. It compares a fund’s net returns against a reference portfolio built from asset-class benchmarks anchored to the fund’s stated strategic asset allocation (SAA), with a tolerance of around 0.5 percentage points per annum over an eight-year horizon. Products that underperform must notify members and face commercial pressure; persistent failure is effectively a licence to exit.

Its bite is real. In the inaugural 2021 round, 13 of 76 MySuper products failed, catalysing exits and mergers. By 2023, only one MySuper product failed, but the expansion to trustee-directed products (TDPs) saw roughly 12 per cent (96 of around 805) fail, underscoring the test’s reach. The system—now roughly $3.8–$3.9 trillion in assets—has clearly shifted behaviour. Treasury previously estimated YFYS reforms could deliver member benefits in the tens of billions over the decade, driven by transparency, consolidation, and fee discipline.

Yet the market signal has side effects. Funds argue the methodology biases against unlisted and greenfield assets—exactly the places government wants more capital: housing, energy transition, and productivity-enhancing infrastructure. The latest results surfaced the same tension: accountability versus flexibility.

Decision: The government opens the door to recalibration

Following the 2025 performance test cycle, the Treasurer flagged a review aimed at removing “unnecessary obstacles” that deter long-horizon investment—particularly in housing. Industry bodies are broadly aligned on the direction of travel: keep the discipline, update the design. Associations representing funds and investment managers have called for longer lookback periods, better-matched benchmarks for unlisted assets, and more nuanced risk measures that reduce the incentive to hug indices.

APRA, for its part, remains focused on member outcomes and comparability. The regulator’s stance has consistently emphasised that any recalibration must not weaken consumer protection or dilute the pressure on chronic underperformance. The policy challenge is a classic regulatory design problem: avoid Goodhart’s Law (when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure) without losing the test’s market-cleaning potency.

Implementation: What changes are on the table (and what it will take to execute)

Technical options under discussion include:

• Benchmark refinement: Replace listed proxies for unlisted property and infrastructure with blended indices or factor-based benchmarks that better match risk/illiquidity. Introduce lifecycle cohort benchmarks that reflect member age profiles.
• Time horizon and persistence: Extend to a rolling 10–12-year window and incorporate failure persistence to separate cyclical underperformance from structural issues.
• Risk-adjusted overlays: Complement the headline test with a small set of risk metrics (e.g., tracking error bands, drawdown, and volatility-adjusted returns) to discourage benchmark-hugging.
• Quality-of-service dimension: Borrow from UK “Value for Money” reforms by explicitly weighing net returns alongside fees, service quality, and member outcomes.

Execution will not be trivial. Trustees will need improved data quality and valuation frequency for unlisted assets, look-through reporting for complex vehicles, and upgraded risk systems to monitor active risk budgets and liquidity stress. Asset owners will have to recalibrate their SAA, strengthen valuation governance, and document investment beliefs that justify prudent deviations from the reference portfolio.

Results to date: Measurable shifts in behaviour and market structure

Even in its current form, the test has delivered concrete outcomes:

• Product rationalisation: The initial wave of failures triggered closures and mergers, reducing duplication and lifting average scale—a driver of lower unit costs.
• Fee and return discipline: Successive test cycles have normalised peer comparison on net returns and costs. Funds that previously underperformed have been forced to reset risk budgets, renegotiate mandates, and exit high-fee, low-value strategies.
• Portfolio homogeneity risk: A growing share of assets has migrated toward benchmark-like exposures to minimise tracking-error risk, potentially dulling diversification and long-horizon alpha—especially in unlisted and impact-linked assets.

In 2023, the 12 per cent TDP failure rate exposed variability across multi-asset options outside MySuper, pressing trustees to improve transparency and governance for non-default products. The government’s review indicates policy appetite to preserve the gains while reducing distortion.

Lessons: A smarter test can unlock national priorities and member value

What should business leaders in super and asset management take from this?

• Design drives behaviour: The 0.5 per cent tolerance and SAA-referenced benchmarks sharpened focus and cleaned out chronic laggards. But design features also nudged risk budgets toward listed markets. Expect boardrooms to treat benchmark construction as a strategic variable, not a mechanical input.
• Scale and specialisation win: Larger funds with in-house capability to value unlisted assets quarterly, manage liquidity, and explain risk-adjusted performance will hold an advantage under any enhanced regime.
• International playbook matters: UK value-for-money reforms and New Zealand’s KiwiSaver oversight show that next-gen accountability blends net returns with service and risk transparency. Australia’s recalibration will likely rhyme with these models, not repeat them.

Business impact: Strategy moves for early adopters

• Pre-emptive SAA tuning: Run parallel portfolios—one optimised for the current test, another for plausible reform scenarios (longer horizon, unlisted-blend benchmarks). Use this to set interim risk budgets and avoid cliff-edge adjustments.
• Data and valuation uplift: Invest in independent valuation frameworks, more frequent unlisted marks, and look-through to asset-level cash flows. This reduces tracking-error surprises and strengthens narrative credibility with boards, APRA and members.
• Liquidity architecture: Build contingency lines, staged commitment schedules, and secondary-market options for private assets to pass both the test and member switching events.
• Partnership pipelines: Should housing and energy transition receive clearer test treatment, prepare co-investment platforms with government, banks, and developers now to move first when rules land.

Future outlook: The next decade’s competitive landscape

The review’s centre of gravity is clear: keep the spotlight on underperformance, modernise the methodology to better reflect long-term, real-economy investing. If achieved, expect three shifts: (1) a re-acceleration into unlisted and impact-linked assets under stricter valuation and reporting standards; (2) further consolidation as data and risk capabilities become table stakes; and (3) a more nuanced member value narrative that balances net returns, volatility, and retirement adequacy.

For trustees, the winning posture is “both/and”: be test-robust and future-focused. In a $3.8–$3.9 trillion system, even small tweaks to the benchmark engine re-route billions. Those who treat the review as a strategic design moment—not a compliance footnote—will compound advantages in cost, capability and access to nation-building deal flow.

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• Yes

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APRA’s latest performance test results have reignited a structural debate: can Australia hold funds to account while still backing the nation’s long-horizon investment needs? With the government signalling a review to remove ‘unnecessary obstacles’ to investment in housing and other nation-building assets, trustees face strategic choices that go beyond benchmark arithmetic. This case study traces the test’s evolution, the business impacts already visible in product closures and fee discipline, and the decision points that will shape capital allocation across a $3.8–$3.9 trillion system. The outcome will reset competitive dynamics in superannuation for a decade.

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The latest performance test results have reignited debate over Australia’s superannuation benchmarking regime and prompted a formal government review. Behind the headlines, boards are quietly rewiring investment settings, risk budgets and data infrastructure to avoid unintended penalties — without abandoning long‑term, nation‑building assets. This case study unpacks what leading funds are actually doing, what’s working by the numbers, and what a redesigned test could mean for competitiveness and member outcomes.

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APRA’s annual performance test was designed to drive accountability and lift standards. Four years in, it has unquestionably sharpened competition and closed underperforming products. But the latest results have amplified concerns from both industry and policymakers that the framework may be steering capital away from illiquid and transitional assets just as Australia needs more investment in housing, energy and productivity. With the government signalling a review aimed at removing unnecessary barriers to such investments, the regime has entered a pivotal phase.

Context: a powerful test with awkward side‑effects

The test compares a product’s net returns to a composite reference portfolio derived from its disclosed strategic asset allocation. Underperformance beyond a tolerance margin triggers a fail; repeated failure restricts new member inflows. The mechanism has delivered clear consumer wins — fewer persistently weak products and sharper fee discipline — and brought transparency to a market managing more than $3.7 trillion in retirement savings.

Yet fund executives, consultants and industry bodies have highlighted three friction points: tracking‑error risk for active and illiquid strategies; procyclicality in periods of benchmark whipsaw; and valuation lags in unlisted assets that can distort point‑in‑time comparisons. Retail platforms contend the test pressures “index‑hugging”, while industry funds warn it can penalise genuine long‑horizon diversification. The government’s planned review, flagged by the Treasurer as part of an ambition to mobilise super capital in housing and other national priorities, aims to refine rather than abandon the regime.

Decision: how one large fund reframed the problem

This case study synthesises practices adopted by several large funds into an anonymised composite (“Fund Alpha”), representing a top‑10 Australian fund with a multi‑asset MySuper option and a suite of trustee‑directed products. After the 2023–2024 test cycles, Alpha’s board set three non‑negotiables: protect long‑term member value, maintain capacity to invest in illiquids and the energy transition, and achieve a stable performance‑test surplus. The board directed management to redesign portfolio construction, fees and data systems to target a consistent positive margin to the benchmark while preserving strategic differentiation.

Implementation: technical playbook, not spin

Alpha executed a six‑point program over 12 months:

- Benchmark‑aware strategic asset allocation: Re‑mapped the strategic asset allocation (SAA) to the test’s reference indices to quantify structural tracking error. Set a hard limit of 0.8% tracking error to the test benchmark at the total‑portfolio level, with product‑level risk budgets.

- Liquidity and valuation cadence: Lifted the share of liquid proxies within private markets sleeves (e.g., listed infrastructure as a bridge for unlisted pipelines) and tightened valuation frequency in private assets to quarterly with event‑based triggers.

- Illiquid pacing and sequencing: Kept a meaningful illiquid allocation (c. 25%) but sequenced commitments to avoid clustering denominator effects. Introduced “test‑aware” pacing that models rolling eight‑year outcomes through multiple macro scenarios.

- Active risk rationalisation: Concentrated active risk in high‑conviction sleeves (global quality equities, credit dislocation, and climate‑solution private equity), offset by low‑fee core beta elsewhere. This reduced benchmark relative volatility without abandoning alpha.

- Fee compression and procurement: Renegotiated external mandates and internalised selected capabilities, cutting all‑in fees for flagship options by 8–15 basis points, with explicit pass‑through to the test.

- Data, analytics and governance: Built a performance‑test “digital twin” that replicates APRA’s methodology daily. The twin feeds investment committees with live surplus/deficit, attribution by asset class and scenario overlays for policy changes under review.

Results: measurable uplift without abandoning mission

Within a year, Alpha reported the following outcomes (anonymised composite figures):

- Test surplus: Improved from –0.20% p.a. (rolling) to +0.45% p.a. versus the composite benchmark, reducing the probability of a future fail from an estimated ~18% to ~5% across Monte Carlo scenarios.

- Tracking error: Lowered total‑portfolio tracking error to the test benchmark from 1.6% to 0.7%, cutting the risk of adverse point‑in‑time comparisons.

- Fees and member benefit: Reduced headline fees by an average 12 basis points. For a $150 billion flagship option with 1.2 million members, that equates to roughly $180 million in annual fee savings and an estimated $5,400 higher balance at retirement for a typical 30‑year‑old member (assuming 40 years to retirement, 1% real wage growth, and 4.5% real returns).

- Liquidity resilience: Increased the liquid coverage ratio to meet a 1‑in‑20 stress redemption scenario from 1.1x to 1.6x while holding a 24–26% allocation to private assets, including renewables, social infrastructure and build‑to‑rent.

- Communication: Member complaints related to product changes fell by 32% following a targeted disclosure campaign explaining the test and fee reductions.

Market context and competitive dynamics

The performance test has already reshaped the landscape: weak products have exited or merged; surviving funds compete harder on price and scale; and CIOs increasingly frame “regulatory alpha” as a capability — the skill of generating enduring test‑positive outcomes while preserving true diversification. Industry bodies such as ASFA have broadly supported the regime’s consumer intent while calling for technical refinements. Several managers, particularly those with higher active or illiquid tilts, argue that current settings can inhibit investment in emerging sectors central to Australia’s growth agenda.

Lessons: what boards and executives can do now

- Treat the test as a design constraint, not an investment strategy. Codify a minimum surplus target and explicit risk limits to the benchmark across products.

- Build a daily methodology “twin” for governance and decision support. If you can’t measure the margin, you can’t manage it.

- Separate illiquid pacing from market timing. Use rolling cohort analysis to avoid denominator effects around valuation step‑ups and index inflection points.

- Pull the price lever early. Fee compression is the most reliable way to widen the margin without distorting asset allocation.

- Communicate trade‑offs with members. Transparency reduces switching risk and supports long‑term strategies.

Future outlook: what a smarter test could look like

As Canberra reviews the framework, expect debate to coalesce around five adjusters: (1) extending the horizon (e.g., longer look‑back for products with structural illiquidity); (2) refined benchmarks for unlisted and climate‑transition assets to reduce valuation mismatch; (3) explicit tracking‑error corridors rather than a hard cliff; (4) clearer transitional settings for new or materially changed products; and (5) enhanced disclosure so members see risk, cost and long‑run value, not just a single pass/fail flag.

Internationally, regulators are converging on value‑for‑money regimes that balance performance, cost and service — the UK’s approach is one example — suggesting Australia’s next iteration can remain rigorous while being less distortionary. Early movers that internalise these likely settings will bank a durable competitive edge: lower costs, better data, steadier surplus, and continued access to illiquids that underpin long‑term returns and national investment priorities.

Bottom line: the test is here to stay, but smarter design and smarter implementation can align consumer protection with capital formation. Boards that treat this as a strategic redesign — not an annual compliance scramble — will own the next decade.

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• Yes

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The latest performance test results have reignited debate over Australia’s superannuation benchmarking regime and prompted a formal government review. Behind the headlines, boards are quietly rewiring investment settings, risk budgets and data infrastructure to avoid unintended penalties — without abandoning long‑term, nation‑building assets. This case study unpacks what leading funds are actually doing, what’s working by the numbers, and what a redesigned test could mean for competitiveness and member outcomes.

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Aware Super has unveiled a suite of new digital features designed to streamline the workflow for financial advisers and their clients. This significant upgrade includes direct data feeds to Xplan and the online authorisation of transactions, aiming to provide a more seamless experience for advisers using Aware Super’s Adviser Portal.

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The enhancements are set to simplify administrative tasks, allowing advisers to dedicate more time to client engagement. Steve Travis, Group Executive Member Growth at Aware Super, expressed enthusiasm about the new developments: "This upgrade and enhancement of a key platform used by financial advisers demonstrates our commitment to offering a great digital experience across all our touchpoints and acknowledges the important role advisers play in helping Australians reach their retirement goals."

The introduction of these new features comes in response to a 24% increase in advisers registered with Aware Super over the past year. The company is keen to support this growing community by making administrative processes more efficient. "Aware Super understands that advisers deliver the greatest value when they’re engaging with their clients, rather than dealing with paperwork and administrative tasks, so we’re striving to make administration as simple, quick and easy as possible," Travis added.

Among the newly introduced features, the direct data feeds to Xplan stand out as a significant improvement. This functionality allows advisers to receive a direct data feed from Aware Super into their Xplan financial planning platform, making it easier to view and track client accounts. This integration is expected to save considerable time and reduce the potential for errors in data entry.

Another key feature is the Member In-App Approval, which permits clients to authorise transactions initiated by their adviser through the Aware Super app. This feature not only adds a layer of convenience but also enhances the flexibility of managing financial transactions. Additionally, the Online Adviser Nomination feature allows registered advisers to initiate nomination requests via the Adviser Portal, which clients can approve online, thus eliminating the need for cumbersome paperwork.

Moreover, the Online Adviser Registration process has been simplified, making it quicker and more straightforward for advisers to register with Aware Super. This change is expected to attract more advisers to the platform, further expanding Aware Super’s reach and influence.

The upgrade also enhances existing features of the Adviser Portal, such as client dashboard access, investment option switching, management of client contributions, and tracking of action requests. Advisers can also benefit from withdrawal benefit quotes, non-lapsing binding beneficiary nominations, and the ability to view client Centrelink payment schedules.

Travis highlighted the ongoing commitment to improving the Adviser Portal: "We’re continually updating and enhancing the Adviser Portal as we engage with advisers and welcome feedback on ways we can help them increase efficiency and productivity." This proactive approach ensures that the platform evolves in line with the needs of its users.

In addition to these digital advancements, registered advisers have access to support from Aware Super’s national team of Business Development Managers, who provide guidance on products and services. The dedicated Adviser Engagement and Support Team also offers additional assistance, ensuring that advisers have the resources they need to succeed.

The Adviser Portal is part of Aware Super’s industry-leading digital platform, which has digitised approximately 95% of transactions and achieved straight-through processing for over 80% of tasks. This level of digital integration underscores Aware Super’s commitment to innovation and efficiency in the financial services sector.

Aware Super’s efforts have not gone unnoticed, as the company was recently awarded this year’s Best Fund: Advice Services award by Chant West. This accolade reflects the organisation’s dedication to providing top-notch services and support to financial advisers and their clients.

As Aware Super continues to enhance its digital offerings, the company reaffirms its commitment to supporting financial advisers in their mission to help Australians achieve their retirement goals. With these new tools at their disposal, advisers are better equipped than ever to provide high-quality financial advice and service.

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Aware Super has unveiled a suite of new digital features designed to streamline the workflow for financial advisers and their clients. This significant upgrade includes direct data feeds to Xplan and the online authorisation of transactions, aiming to provide a more seamless experience for advisers using Aware Super’s Adviser Portal.

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Australia’s performance test has lifted the floor on retirement outcomes—and divided the industry in the process. After early shockwaves, failure rates have fallen and fees have trended down, but debate over benchmarks and unintended consequences is intensifying. This case study unpacks how leading funds recalibrated strategy, the measurable impacts on members and markets, and what a pragmatic overhaul could look like for regulators and trustees alike.

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Case Study: Australia’s superannuation performance test as a catalyst for industry strategy

Context: A blunt instrument that moved the market

When APRA’s Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) performance test landed in 2021, it was designed to be simple, transparent and unmissable. Funds that underperformed a benchmark by more than 50 basis points per year over the test window would fail; fail twice, and you’re barred from accepting new members. The initial impact was immediate: in the inaugural 2021 assessment, 13 MySuper products failed, affecting roughly one million members, catalysing fee reductions, product closures and mergers.

By 2023, APRA expanded the assessment to trustee-directed products (TDPs), surfacing a long tail of under-performers. The expansion revealed widespread dispersion in outcomes beyond MySuper default options and intensified scrutiny of fees, asset allocation and governance practices. Industry feedback since has converged on two truths: the test has driven better average outcomes, and its design can create distortions—particularly around illiquid assets, active management and lifecycle cohorts.

APRA maintains the framework is lifting standards. Funds and several consultants argue the calibration needs refinement, not abandonment. That tension defines the 2025 debate: keep the pressure on, but fix the incentives.

Decision: From regulatory compliance to strategy redesign

Leading funds made four deliberate choices in the wake of the first-year shock:

• Benchmark-aware portfolio construction. CIOs re-engineered strategic asset allocations (SAA) to map more tightly to APRA’s reference portfolios, capping tracking error and rebuilding risk budgets for illiquids and active risk.
• Fee compression and simplification. Trustees used scale to renegotiate mandates, bring more assets in-house and simplify product menus—lowering disclosed fees and reducing the chance that fee outliers trigger test underperformance.
• Product rationalisation and M&A. Underperforming or sub-scale products were closed or merged. Boards leaned into consolidation, seeking cost-to-serve advantages and stronger investment governance at meaningful scale.
• RegTech and risk oversight. Funds built internal “shadow YFYS” dashboards, running daily or weekly test simulations across options to detect drift early and pre-empt remediation.

One large fund executive characterised the pivot succinctly: “We moved the performance test out of ‘compliance’ and into ‘strategy’. It now informs our SAA, cost base and member communications.”

Implementation: The technical reality behind passing the test

The mechanics mattered. The test compares each option’s net investment return to an APRA reference portfolio matching its disclosed SAA. That makes disclosure accuracy and SAA discipline mission-critical. Funds adopted several playbooks:

• SAA governance. Tighter corridors around SAA bands limited unintentional benchmark drift. For lifecycle MySuper options, cohorts were refreshed to ensure alignment between stated risk and realised exposures.
• Illiquid asset calibration. Unlisted property, infrastructure and private equity remain valuable for diversification and long-horizon premia, but can introduce tracking error versus listed proxies. Funds lifted valuation frequency, enhanced look-through risk analytics, and rescaled allocations to keep tracking error in a 50–100 bps range.
• Alpha where it counts. Active risk was concentrated where benchmark mis-specification is most pronounced (credit, small caps, select global equities), while high-cost, low-conviction mandates were culled.
• Cost engineering. Procurement programs targeted external manager fees, custody, market data and transition costs. Several funds reported multi-basis-point reductions from mandate renegotiations and insourcing of core beta.
• Member communication. “Fail plans” were pre-drafted—including remediation steps, fee cuts in train and timelines—to avoid reputational damage compounding investment outcomes.

Results: What moved—by the numbers

The directional impact is clear across three lenses:

• Fewer failures, fewer affected members. After the initial 13 MySuper failures in 2021 (circa one million members), subsequent cycles saw a marked decline in failures in the default segment. When trustee-directed products were first tested in 2023, dozens of options failed, surfacing issues beyond MySuper; in later cycles, industry reporting points to a meaningful year-on-year reduction in both the number of failing options and members affected as remediation took hold.
• Consolidation and scale. Independent industry analyses (e.g., KPMG Super Insights and WTW market studies) show that the top 10 funds now manage roughly two-thirds of APRA-regulated assets, up materially over recent years. The performance test accelerated this trajectory, with multiple public mergers and product closures since 2021 aimed at achieving fee and governance scale.
• Fee compression. Heatmap and consultant commentary indicate sustained downward pressure on MySuper fees. Funds report multi-basis-point reductions from manager renegotiations and simplification—small in isolation, material at system scale over decades.

APRA’s line remains consistent. As Deputy Chair Margaret Cole has said in public remarks, the framework “continues to drive better outcomes and transparency for members,” while APRA is open to evidence-based refinements. On the other side, large retail players including AMP and Insignia have publicly criticised aspects of the methodology—arguing it can penalise diversification and long-horizon investing when measured against short windows and stylised benchmarks.

Lessons: What business leaders can take from super’s stress test

• Make the metric the operating model. When a KPI determines licence to grow, build it into strategy. Funds that operationalised a live, internal performance-test model turned a threat into a design constraint—and avoided surprises.
• Concentrate active risk; industrialise the rest. Treat benchmark-relative risk as scarce capital. Spend it where the odds of persistent alpha are highest; run the core portfolio at institutional cost levels.
• Narrative discipline reduces regulatory risk. Tight alignment between disclosed SAA, realised portfolio and member communications is not cosmetic—it’s a control.
• Scale is a capability, not just an AUM statistic. Mergers only pay if they deliver lower unit costs, stronger governance and better data. Several integrations succeeded by prioritising operating model harmonisation over brand speed.

Market trends and competitive dynamics

Business impact. The test has re-priced risk appetite and cost structures. CIOs have trimmed tracking error budgets; CEOs have targeted operating leverage; boards have simplified product shelves to reduce regulatory drag. The bottom line: lower fees, cleaner menus and stronger default outcomes are becoming table stakes, not differentiators.

Competitive advantage. Early adopters of benchmark-aware design, robust RegTech and manager-fee compression gained headroom to retain illiquids and selective active risk without breaching guardrails—sustaining a performance edge while still passing the test.

Industry transformation. Consolidation favours funds with superior data, cost discipline and member engagement. Smaller funds face a strategic fork: specialise with clear value propositions, or seek scale through merger.

Technical deep dive: What should change in an overhaul

Calls for refinement are coalescing around pragmatic tweaks that preserve accountability while reducing distortions:

• Benchmark calibration. Improve the mapping of unlisted assets and credit to reference portfolios, reducing inadvertent penalties for diversification.
• Lookback windows and smoothing. Maintain an 8-year horizon for MySuper but adopt explicit valuation-smoothing protocols for illiquids to avoid pro-cyclical signals.
• Cohort-aware lifecycle testing. Test lifecycle vintages on a cohort basis to reflect differing risk targets across ages, rather than aggregating to a single result.
• Early warning bands. Introduce an amber zone (e.g., within 25 bps of failing) with structured remediation plans, avoiding cliff-edge dynamics.
• Fees and advice clarity. Increase consistency in fee inclusion and disclosure across complex TDP structures to ensure like-for-like comparisons.

Future outlook: A roadmap for trustees and regulators

Expect APRA and Treasury to continue iterative calibration rather than wholesale reversal. Internationally, regulators in the UK (Value for Money framework) and the Netherlands (outcomes-based supervision) are pushing in similar directions—tying scale, fees and net returns to member value. Australia will likely remain a reference model, provided it fine-tunes benchmark design without dulling the accountability edge.

For executive teams, the strategic playbook is clear: embed the test in investment and operating decisions; invest in data and scenario analytics; pursue fee and product simplification; and maintain the capacity for differentiated, long-horizon investing where the risk-adjusted opportunity remains compelling. In superannuation—as in any regulated market—the winners are those who treat regulation as design input, not afterthought.

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Australia’s performance test has lifted the floor on retirement outcomes—and divided the industry in the process. After early shockwaves, failure rates have fallen and fees have trended down, but debate over benchmarks and unintended consequences is intensifying. This case study unpacks how leading funds recalibrated strategy, the measurable impacts on members and markets, and what a pragmatic overhaul could look like for regulators and trustees alike.

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Can an accountability tool double as a nation-building lever? Canberra’s review of the superannuation performance test aims to preserve member protection while freeing funds to back long-dated assets like housing and infrastructure.

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 With roughly A$3.7 trillion under management, even small allocation shifts could redirect tens of billions into the real economy. Early movers that master illiquids, liquidity and regulation in tandem will bank a competitive edge.

Case Study: Recalibrating Australia’s superannuation performance test to unlock long-term investment while safeguarding member outcomes

Context: From compliance choke point to capital catalyst

Australia’s Your Future, Your Super (YFYS) performance test, introduced in 2021, has delivered a blunt message: underperform and face consequences. The test compares net returns of MySuper and trustee-directed products to a composite benchmark; fail by more than 50 basis points per annum over the assessment period and penalties bite. The regime has improved transparency and accelerated mergers, but it has also had unintended consequences. Funds and industry bodies argue the test’s mechanics discourage investment in unlisted and long-duration assets—precisely the kinds of investments required for housing and infrastructure.

The Treasurer has confirmed a review aimed at removing unnecessary barriers to these investments, without abolishing the test or diluting its member-first objective. The Financial Services Council (FSC) and the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) back targeted changes, positioning this as a calibration exercise, not a retreat from accountability. The stakes are material: Australia’s super pool is now around A$3.7 trillion (APRA, 2024). A reweighting of even 2–3% toward domestic long-term projects could mobilise A$75–110 billion in additional capital over time.

Decision: The trade-offs behind targeted reform

Policy makers must balance three goals: protect members from chronic underperformance; remove structural biases against illiquid, long-dated assets; and align super capital with national priorities such as housing and infrastructure. Industry consensus is broad but not uniform. FSC and ASFA advocate more nuanced benchmarks and better treatment of unlisted asset valuation. Larger funds with established private markets teams favour flexibility; some smaller funds prefer the status quo to avoid new costs and complexity. APRA’s prudential stance—discipline, liquidity and genuine diversification—remains the guardrail. The political economy is clear: member outcomes stay paramount, but the opportunity cost of underinvesting in productive assets is now on the table.

Technical deep dive: How the test drives (or deters) asset allocation

The performance test measures each product’s net return against a benchmark portfolio constructed from listed indices mapped to the product’s strategic asset allocation. Two mechanics collide with long-term investing:

- Tracking error penalty: Allocations to unlisted property, infrastructure and private markets inevitably diverge from listed proxies. Persistent tracking error can look like underperformance even when long-run value creation is strong.
- Valuation cadence: Unlisted assets are appraised infrequently and can display “smoothing” relative to daily-priced listed benchmarks. During stress, timing mismatches can widen apparent gaps, elevating failure risk for otherwise sound portfolios.

Other frictions include fee recognition (performance fees in private assets can spike point-in-time net returns) and the “two strikes” rule: a second failure closes a product to new members, a significant commercial penalty. The review is expected to focus on benchmark construction, treatment of unlisted valuations, and the measurement window—targeted tweaks that preserve comparability while reducing bias against productive illiquids.

Implementation reality: Portfolio design, liquidity and governance under a revised regime

Assuming targeted reforms, the operational playbook for funds will still demand precision:

- Benchmark engineering: Revisit strategic asset allocation and index selection to reduce unintended tracking error. Consider custom composite benchmarks that better reflect unlisted exposures where permitted.
- Risk budgeting: Explicitly set tracking error and drawdown budgets at the product level. Align private markets pacing with risk budgets to avoid cliff effects around assessment dates.
- Liquidity ladders: Maintain a robust “sources and uses” model incorporating benefit payments, collateral, and rebalancing needs—stress-tested under severe but plausible scenarios. Many leading funds aim to hold several months of net outflows in liquid assets without forced selling.
- Valuation governance: Increase frequency and independence of unlisted asset valuations, tighten appraisal methods, and document valuation policies for auditability against the test.
- Member communications: Explain the rationale for long-term assets, their expected return and risk, and how the test works. Clear disclosure reduces behavioural risk during market stress.
- Manager architecture: Build or buy capabilities—co-invest rights, secondary market access, and fee structures with high-water marks—to capture the illiquidity premium without overpaying.

Market context and competitive dynamics

The performance test has catalysed consolidation, with the number of APRA-regulated funds shrinking markedly over the past decade. Targeted reform is likely to intensify the “scale-for-skill” race: only larger or highly specialised funds will sustain double-digit allocations to private assets alongside best-in-class liquidity and governance. Expect more mergers, specialist capability hires (infrastructure, private credit, housing), and partnerships with global pension peers.

International precedents support the direction of travel. Canada’s large plans built global reputations on long-dated, direct private market investing within disciplined risk frameworks. The UK’s Mansion House agenda encourages higher allocations to unlisted equities by 2030, seeking growth and diversification while maintaining fiduciary duties. Australia’s review sits within this broader shift to long-term, real-economy investing under tighter accountability.

Results: Scenarios for capital flows, returns and real-economy spillovers

Scenario modelling illustrates the potential impact:

- Capital reallocation: If MySuper products reweight just 3% toward housing, infrastructure and private credit over three years, the system could deploy roughly A$110 billion in additional long-term capital (based on a A$3.7 trillion asset base), staged to manage pacing and liquidity.
- Return profile: A sustained illiquidity premium of 1–3 percentage points over listed equivalents, net of fees, would lift long-run member outcomes if implemented prudently. Assuming a 2% premium on the incremental 3% allocation, portfolio-level uplift could be ~6 basis points per annum—small but persistent, compounding in members’ favour.
- Fee impacts: Private assets carry higher headline fees, but scale, co-investments and performance-aligned structures can compress net costs. The test’s net-of-fee construct incentivises fee discipline.
- Housing and infrastructure: Additional super funding can co-finance social and affordable housing and energy transition assets, provided risk-sharing frameworks (e.g., government guarantees, availability payments, or planning certainty) are in place to meet fiduciary hurdles.

Early adopters with seasoned private markets teams and robust liquidity frameworks should capture relative performance and member retention advantages, particularly as APRA heatmaps and comparison tools keep fee and return scrutiny high.

Lessons: A strategic playbook for trustees, CIOs and policymakers

- Keep the North Star: Member outcomes first. Targeted reform should improve market completeness, not dilute accountability.
- Build for resilience: Treat liquidity as a portfolio product, not a leftover. Codify collateral, redemption and rebalancing rules to avoid performance-test cliff risk.
- Professionalise private markets: Invest in data, valuation governance and manager bargaining power. Scale or partner—standing still is not a strategy.
- Align incentives: Use fee models that reward long-term value creation, with high-water marks and downside protections.
- De-risk public purpose: For housing and nation-building assets, develop bankable structures with predictable cash flows. Public–private partnership discipline remains essential.
- Communicate expectations: Educate members on the role of illiquids, drawdown tolerances, and how reforms work. Trust capital matters as much as financial capital.

Bottom line: The performance test isn’t going away—nor should it. But calibrated correctly, it can evolve from a compliance brake into a capital engine, advancing both member wealth and Australia’s investment capacity. Funds that operationalise this balance fastest will set the benchmark others must chase.

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• Yes

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Can an accountability tool double as a nation-building lever? Canberra’s review of the superannuation performance test aims to preserve member protection while freeing funds to back long-dated assets like housing and infrastructure.

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