About $65 million of superannuation assets are likely to move as the industry changes shape following the introduction of choice of fund in July this year.

A report by the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) says 5.7 million Australians will be able to choose their own fund, and of those about 8%, or 456,000, will move funds.

Most public sector employees and many in large organisations covered by industrial agreements will be exempt from choice of fund. The report also cautions fund members to be wary of unlicensed financial advisers.

AFSA CEO Philippa Smith says the biggest risk seems to be advisers mis-selling people into self-managed super fund arrangements when the client doesn’t have the skills, time or savings to make this viable.

“Fortunately most instances of mis-selling so far seem to be isolated cases driven by individual advisers, not co-ordinated marketing campaigns by financial institutions,” she said.

The ASFA report – Implications of Choice of Superannuation Fund Legislation for Members, Employers and Funds – warns employers to be careful who they allow to provide educational or marketing material in the workplace to employees.

There have been reports of “educational seminars” that have recommended inappropriate or unwise courses of action to employees.