Industry Super Network (ISN) is an umbrella organisation for the industry super movement. Industry Super Network is part of Industry Super Holdings (ISH), a group of 35 industry super funds. The four main entities in ISH include ME Bank as the banking arm, Industry Funds Management (IFM) for funds management, IFS for financial services and financial planning and ISN for research, policy development and advocacy.
ISN plays an active role on behalf of ISH shareholders and their sponsoring organisations in advocating their views to the community, government and regulators.
ISN manages collective projects on behalf of a number of Industry SuperFunds with the objective of maximising the retirement savings of five million industry super members.
Led by Chief Executive, David Whiteley, ISN comprises a team of economists; political, commercial and industrial advisers; and communications practitioners. Both ISN, which was formed in 2006, and its founding entity, Industry Fund Services chaired by Garry Weaven, have played a key role in shaping the retirement savings debate over the last 25 years.
Industry super advertising campaign
A key ISN role is management of the highly successful Joint Marketing Campaign on behalf of 16 Industry SuperFunds. The campaign, which commenced in mid 2005, is designed to educate the public about the industry super fund category and its benefits for members and employers. Creative executions of the campaign have included the long-running Compare the Pair, the Bernie Reassurance campaign during the global financial crisis and most recently the Movement or ‘hands’ campaign featuring the Paul Kelly and Kev Carmody song From little things, big things grow. All three creative executions have achieved extraordinary recognition and approval both within the industry and from members and the general public.
The recent period has arguably been the most important for superannuation in the last decade with a raft of major reforms being considered following the Henry Review into taxation and retirement incomes, the Cooper review of the operation of super and the Ripoll review of financial services. ISN engages with all levels of government, opposition and regulators to inform them of the views of ISN.
Towards Consensus
ISN has been at the forefront of the ongoing debate about the role that financial planning should play in retirement savings and has advocated a range of reforms to build a fully functioning superannuation system in the best interests of members. Significant change has occurred in two areas long advocated by ISN that deliver profound and lasting benefit for both working and retired Australians – the introduction of league tables and low cost intra fund advice.
The establishment of the first official superannuation performance tables in 2009 by the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority (APRA) will significantly improve transparency and accountability in the information about super funds available to industry, consumers and regulators.
The introduction of intra fund advice for members within existing regulatory provisions in 2009 was a groundbreaking development that allows super funds to provide low cost advice on three super topics. These include investment choice, insurance and contribution levels. The benefits of this development to millions of super fund members cannot be under-estimated. Issues, which ISN continues to progress include:
- banning commissions and asset based fees,
- legislating for financial advice in the best interests of consumers
- ensuring equitable superannuation tax concessions
- a greater focus on equity and efficiency in the adequacy debate
ISN’s important reports:
In December 2010 ISN released an important report, Industry Super’s Blueprint for Australia’s Superannuation System. Industry Super Funds are broadly supportive of Government measures that have arisen from the three reviews into the taxation system and the superannuation and financial planning industries.
The blueprint emphasises that getting the policy settings for superannuation right will enhance the integrity, confidence and trust in the system and limit the need for future policy changes.
A Comparison of Long Term Superannuation Investment Performance: In September 2011 ISN released a document that compares the average performance of for profit and not-for-profit superannuation sectors over a 14-year period, using published APRA data.
The report finds that retail super funds do not typically pass on benefits of scale to their members and pay above market rates for in-house services.
As a result, retail super returns to their members have lagged not-for-profit funds by an average of nearly two per cent per annum, reducing super savings by thousands and national savings by tens of billions.
Supernomics, written by ISN Chief Economist, Dr Sacha Vidler, explores the three causes of market failure and how to fix them by the introduction of a Superannuation Safety Net.
Transformation of the Financial Advice Industry, by Rice Warner Actuaries, commissioned by ISN, models the impact of proposed reforms requiring financial planners to act in the best interests of the clients and banning commissions paid to financial planners, including percentage based fees. For example, if these reforms go ahead:
- The number of people receiving financial advice could double and add 10% to Australian savings within 15 years. The number of low to middle income earners receiving financial advice would increase dramatically.
- Incomes for financial planners would continue to increase, rising from $169,000 in 2009 to $363,000 by 2024 (in future dollars)
For the full analysis and a comprehensive list of the benefits of such change click here.
Learn more about the work of ISN
Industry Super Network invites you to learn more about its activities and policies through this website and documents contained in the document library. If you would like to obtain hard copies of reports or have any questions please email admin@industrysuper.com
Industry Super Network is a division of Industry Fund Services Pty Ltd ABN 54 007 016 195 AFSL 232514