Super platforms warned, again, to protect client funds

Australians preparing for retirement by investing in products on retirement platforms still face the risk of being exposed to dodgy offers.

The warning from the corporate regulator follows the collapse of the First Guardian and Shield funds, which exposed hard-working Australians to highly speculative, illiquid assets and outright theft.

The impact left almost 11,000 people $1.1 billion out of pocket; Many have lost their entire savings after being persuaded to switch from standard super funds with the promise of sky-high returns.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Monday released a 30-page report into its 15-month review of six platform trustees tasked with more than $300 billion in savings across 977,000 member accounts.

The regulator felt “hugely disappointed” by the lack of progress in key areas since the last industry report in 2024.

These include advice fee deductions and a lack of fiduciary oversight of fee-related behavior, monitoring of holding limits and options on investment menus.

“Overall, our review found that trustees still did not do enough to protect their members from harmful advice, fee deductions, and improper investments on their platforms,” the report said.

While ASIC wants Australians to trust the platforms, commissioner Simone Constant said dodgy offers were happening in “pockets”.

“What we’re calling for here is that we need the standards and legal requirements to be met comprehensively and consistently by trustees for that trust to occur,” he told AAP.

Platform trustees, like all pension trustees, are responsible for overseeing the activities of advisors and advice licensees who provide services to their members.

But they also rely on consultants to drive new business; This creates tension between increasing platform membership and acting in the best financial interests of members.

“We are concerned that some platform trustees are prioritizing their relationships with advisors in a way that poses an unacceptable risk to members’ superannuation balances,” the report said.

In the 10 years to 2025, retirement platforms have exploded in popularity.

Member benefits tripled to $396 billion compared to the traditional industry; this figure has more than doubled; Consultancy fees received from retirement platforms increased fourfold to 2.3 billion dollars.

Ms Constant said trustees needed to make better use of the breadth of internal data available to inform themselves about potential risks to members.

ASIC is holding off on naming and shaming the platforms that have so far fallen short, giving them time to fix the problems.

But that won’t last long, with Ms Constant warning ASIC is “actively considering” using its regulatory and enforcement powers.

“We’ve run out of patience,” he said.

“We will name, shame if necessary, and impose sanctions when necessary.”

A retirement platform is a fiduciary service that acts like an investment supermarket, allowing investors to choose from multiple approved options under a single account, usually managed by a financial advisor.

Because of their complexity, they charge higher fees than traditional funds; advisor fees are added to and deducted from client accounts.

In the super hierarchy, platforms sit between standard industry funds and more complex, self-managed funds and tend to be popular with people who want more control over their wealth.

ASIC’s review of trustees, which are responsible for 72 per cent of platform trustee member benefits, took place between June 2024 and October 2025.

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