APRA is trying to devise ways to improve the quality and timeliness of information it receives from superannuation funds. CEO Graeme Thompson said the regulator has a “very close interest” in the issues being considered by the Productivity Commission’s national competition policy review of the super industry. 

Mr Thompson said APRA now regulates more than 11,400 funds with 19.6 million members. Assets held in the funds now exceed $290 billion. He said about 1800 employer-sponsored funds have “risky investment strategies”. Most of these funds have less than $5 million invested.

An APRA exercise to speed up the flow and quality of information should be backed up by further “more radical changes” to ensure the industry is properly supervised. Some of the key changes APRA wants include stringent guidelines on funds’ investment portfolios, increased power to seek information directly from third party resources, a reassessment of minimum capital requirements in super, and broader licensing agreements.