Retiring into a Desired Future Economy : Superannuation’s Role in Building It

This paper discusses the regulatory frameworks of superannuation schemes from four jurisdictions; New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom and United States. The regulatory infrastructures used by these four countries is broadly indicative of global trends in the superannuation regulation sphere. As such, all discussions in this paper can be applied to superannuation schemes throughout the world. It then analyses whether the regulations in place are sufficient to ensure that retail superannuation scheme providers exercise their discretion in investment in a manner consistent with the preferences and expectations of their scheme participants; the public. This issue arises because the treatment of superannuation funds in terms of investment strategies, policies and decisions effectively mirrors that of institutional schemes, whilst the class of investors are fundamentally different and therefore likely to have differing preferences and expectations. This paper looks to characteristics and factors present in superannuation scheme participants and concludes that neither regulation, nor industry practice are providing for the unique preferences and expectations of the public as scheme participants. Possible regulatory changes to facilitate this meeting of public needs is then discussed