#21. Co-hosts Sarah Penn and Neil Benson host David Bell, Executive Director at Conexus Institute. We cover:

Industry growth: Superannuation assets grew by 12% last year, mostly from strong investment returns. Four funds are now “mega funds” with over $200 billion AUM.

Mergers and consolidation: Fund mergers continue to shape the sector. Aware’s merger with TelstraSuper tipped it into mega fund status.

Flow dynamics: Natural flows (member contributions) are steady, but competitive flows are increasingly advisor-led with platforms gaining pace.

Advisor-driven switching: More than half of asset switches are now influenced by advisers, with platforms offering efficiency and adviser-friendly features.

Marketing spend: Funds increased marketing by 10%, but there's little evidence it’s driving competitive inflows. Most spend is defensive—trying to stem outflows.

Retirement focus: Demographics highlight 40% of assets held by members 55+. Funds are investing in retirement products and guidance, but competitive barriers remain for retaining members approaching retirement.

SMSF trends: SMSFs are seeing net growth and most are established without a formal adviser. But there’s also a flow back as members tire of administration.

Future landscape: The sector is heading for more mega funds and continued consolidation. Launching new funds is possible, but achieving scale remains a decades-long effort.

Key takeaway: Sector priorities are shifting towards retirement, adviser functionality, and efficiency—but core flows, consolidation, and operational differentiation remain fundamental for fund leaders.

Bonus: Blame marketing? Absolutely!

#20. Sarah flies solo! And discusses death benefit claims and deceased estates with Ben Darlow and Sarah Poole from EstateXchange. We cover:

1. The death benefit challenge: Processing death benefit claims is often complex, manual, and paper-heavy, despite the growing need for efficiency as $5.4 trillion in wealth transfers between generations.
2. Executors’ reality: Families face interacting with up to 37 organisations after a death, making estate administration overwhelming and inefficient.
3. Why processes haven’t modernised: Death claims processes have seen historic underinvestment, lack of regulation, and minimal focus compared to other fund interactions.
4. Reframing the process: Super funds should consider their role as just one of many organisations grieving families deal with, adjusting expectations around paperwork and timelines accordingly.
5. Triage and risk: Funds can streamline basic claims by adopting triage methods, applying more rigour only where needed, and embracing technology to reduce repetitive low-value tasks.
6. Reporting pitfalls: Many organisations’ reporting paints an overly optimistic picture; meaningful reporting requires standardised data and clear lead/lag indicators, plus a culture that welcomes surfacing issues.
7. Fraud as an emerging risk: As more processes move online, the risk of fraud in deceased estates is rising, with up to 9% of consumers encountering actual fraud and 17% experiencing near misses.
8. Looking forward: The future may include digital vaults, seamless handover to executors, faster probate, and platforms that free up locked assets, helping families and the economy.

Want to get in touch or learn more about EstateXchange?

Sarah Poole - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-poole1/

Ben Darlow - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-darlow-1162862b4/

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#19. Co-hosts Neil Benson and Sarah Penn unpack the latest trends and news impacting the superannuation industry.

We cover:

1. Super brand recognition: Surprising results from a Conjointly brand tracker highlight low public awareness of major super brands, including only 57% recognition for AussieSuper and 49% for Hostplus, challenging industry assumptions.
2. The complexity and cost of rebranding: Rebrands are frequent but often more about internal politics than member benefit, and establishing a new name remains a major challenge.
3. The effectiveness of marketing: Despite significant marketing spend, switching rates and member engagement appear largely unchanged, raising questions about return on investment.
4. Member churn and fund flows: Recent reports show industry fund outflows to adviser-led platforms are modest compared to overall inflows, with most money still coming in via default arrangements rather than active switching.
5. Retention dilemmas: As members with larger balances approach retirement, funds struggle to retain them, particularly when financial advisers commonly recommend rolling over to retail platforms.
6. Regulatory challenges and innovation barriers: Uncertainty around advice laws is inhibiting proactive member communications and innovation, especially in retirement products.
7. Fraud and scam protection: ASIC urges funds to strengthen member communications to prevent fraud, but losses remain minor (at $22 million), and tougher controls could erode member experience.
8. Confidence and legislative change: Frequent government tinkering causes member concern, yet most changes aim to improve fairness, and fears of losing all super are unfounded.
9. New superannuation legislation: Discussion around the Building a Stronger and Fairer Super System bill, with support for balancing changes to both high and low-balance accounts.
10. Industry news: Notable updates include Commonwealth Super’s major tech upgrade, HESTA CEO Debbie Blakey’s retirement, and the release of a new AFCA complaints guide.
11. Personal achievement: Neil celebrates passing the RG 146 superannuation qualification after a challenging process.

RESOURCES

1. Super brand tracker confirms golden status of AustralianSuper | Financial Standard - Brand Tracker by Conjointly based on 1344 individuals. 57% recognised AustralianSuper, 49% Hostplus, 48% AMP, 47% Rest, 45% CBUS. Survey also ranked consideration, performance perception, and customer support.
2. Superannuation customer churn hits First Super, NGS Super and Hostplus...