Super fund promotional expenses balloon: APRABY KARREN VERGARA | FRIDAY, 31 JAN 2025 12:23PMSuperannuation funds' promotional expenses continue to balloon as new APRA data shows that AustralianSuper has the biggest marketing budget while Hostplus continues to splurge on sponsorship deals. Hostplus splashed a staggering $13.7 million on sponsorships in the 2024 financial year - which made up 43% of what all super funds collectively spent ($31.7 million). Hostplus leaves other sponsorship budgets in the dust as Cbus, which spent $5 million, made the second-largest outlay. HESTA followed with $2 million and Australian Retirement Trust (ART) with $1.7 million. The newly released APRA data also shows that AustralianSuper, which had $360 billion at the end of last June, spent a total of $52.9 million on total promotional activity with $39 million allocated to advertising. ART, with assets of $310.2 billion at the time, spent $49 million, of which 73% was dedicated to advertising and marketing. UniSuper, Hostplus, Cbus, HESTA and Aware Super all had marketing spends between $36 million and $45 million. Rest, Colonial First State Super, Spirit Super, CareSuper and Mercer Super spent between $13 million and $26 million. AustralianSuper spent the most on member campaigns of $10.8 million out of its total expenses. ART and Aware Super came second and third respectively when it came to member engagement campaigns with more than $5.9 million and $3.1 million each. In terms of payments to industrial bodies, Cbus spent $2.2 million on sponsorships, $908,000 of which went to the CFMEU. Hostplus made $1.4 million sponsorship payments, some of which went to Australian Hotels Association and Queensland Hotels Association. AustralianSuper, meanwhile, spent the most on union-related board and committees with $709,000, followed by TWU Superannuation Fund with $499,000 and Mine Super with $408,000. Overall, super funds' expenditure grew 15% in the year to $12.7 billion. This increase slightly exceeds growth in assets across the industry over the same period, said APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole. "Increased transparency and scrutiny of super fund expenditure are crucial since trustee decisions have direct implications for their members," she said. "The first-time release of fund-level insurance data will enhance transparency and hold trustees and insurers accountable to improve the value and service members receive." Related News |
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