Super Funds: The Time is Right to Lead.

​Several things have brought change to the finance sector, directly and indirectly, that have now set up a real opportunity for Super Funds to come out into the open and take a leadership role in the community:

• The continuing shakedown of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry has all but sidelined the banks as community leaders, but left most Super funds, the non-profit ones anyway, largely untarnished

• At $2.9 trillion, Super funds now hold more of our money than banks hold in loans to individuals and businesses and those funds are expected to triple according to a recent Deloitte report (Dynamics of the Australian Superannuation System)
• Consumers are crying out for corporate leadership with the environment and areas of critical social impact (CEDA 2019 Company Pulse Report)
• Even the regulatory authorities (ASIC, APRA, ASX) and business groups such as the Australian Institute of Company Directors are asking for greater accountability and engagement in ESG (adding environmental and social impacts to the more traditional area of corporate governance).

 
Moreover, the Super industry is by nature long-sighted. It is generally not beholden to the same pressures the banks are under from consumers, Government, the media and shareholders. It has time to breathe, time to assess and time to lead - patiently; methodically; and purposefully.
 
In fact, it feels like a real tipping point moment for the Super-sector;

• Retail funds are still recovering from the total naming and shaming at the Royal Commission and were already losing substantial market share to industry funds before it
• Industry funds are now being intensely targeted for any investment they have, passive or active, in the fossil fuel industry
• The number of funds, in general, is expected to shrink by around 60% in the next decade according to a KPMG report Super Insights.

 
So, it seems clear to us the upshot is:

• In the next decade super funds will grow in wealth and power exponentially
• But shrink in number substantially
• And concentrate under member-owned brands – you, me, us.

 
That brings not only an obligation, but an opportunity, to use that power and wealth for the good of not only the members but the broader communities they live in.
 
The challenge for super funds is how they do that when they have highly limited b2c resources and retail footprint, and within the regulatory constraints of serving their members.
 
Enter stage left our well-established non-profit, for-purpose, sector. They are already primed and capable of delivering real outcomes in partnership with the Super funds, but few funds are engaging in meaningful, impactful partnerships as we speak.
 
So, something needs to change. True leadership means a clear purpose beyond making money. It means driving positive change environmentally and socially. You can’t have our balance sheet and be idle, that doesn’t cut it anymore.

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Author: Bruce McKaskill, MAICD, is a Founding Partner at Fit Brand & Partnerships, Australia's leading independent brand and partnership growth consultancy serving rights holders in the arts, community, associations and Government services sectors.