Vanguard Super leads in organic growth: KPMG

Vanguard Super was the super fund with the highest organic growth rate in FY24, both in terms of assets under management (AUM) and membership, according to a KPMG report.

CareSuper technically had the highest growth in AUM and membership, though this was primarily driven by its recent merger with Spirit Super.

The report also highlighted the continued expansion of industry funds in FY24, with their market share rising by 1.8% - from 38.2% to 40%. Industry fund growth came at the expense of self-managed super funds (SMSFs), which shrank from 24.5% to 22.7%.

Over the past five years, industry funds have "gained significant momentum," KPMG said, increasing their market share by 10.4% - from 29.6% in 2020 to 40% in 2025.

During the same period, retail funds shrank from 24.5% to 22.7%.

AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust maintained their dominance in both AUM and membership numbers. The industry now consists of eight "mega funds," with Hostplus becoming the latest addition after surpassing $100 billion in AUM in FY24.

In addition to the "mega funds," six others are within the $50 billion to $100 billion range.

KPMG also found that, as of 30 June 2024, the average MySuper administration fee on a $50,000 balance was 0.36% within the retail fund sector - up 0.03% from FY23. In contrast, the average fee within the industry fund sector fell slightly from 0.24% to 0.23%.

Among MySuper products, OneSuper (Diversa) recorded the highest administration fee, followed by Prime Super, smartMonday, IOOF (Insignia), and Virgin Money (Mercer).

KPMG noted a trend of funds reviewing their administration arrangements, resulting in moving administrators or transformation their operational function.

"In many cases, this will result in reduced long-term operational costs; however, in the short term, the transition costs may impact year-on-year costs," it said.