Fresh from shrugging off arguments that the Government’s proposed “choice”  plan  for superannuation will harm the industry, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) says the real threat to the super industry is untrustworthy trustees.

APRA Executive GM Charles Littrell says trustees accept a legal obligation under the Superannuation Industry Act to do their best to take care of the best interests of their clients, but this doesn’t always happen.  

“Unfortunately, APRA sees rare cases where trustees fail that obligation,” Mr Littrell said. “This does not mean that they altogether abandon member interests but they are subordinated to another constituency.”

APRA says that other risks to the super industry include fraud and lack of objectivity. It intends to increase its statistical collection from the super industry next year to keep a closer eye on the industry.