The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released a report detailing significant failures by superannuation platform trustees to monitor excessive fees and safeguard member assets.

澳洲證券投資委員會 (ASIC) 發布了一份報告，詳細說明退休金平台信託人在監控過高費用及保障會員資產方面的重大失職。

The regulatory scrutiny was precipitated by the collapse of the Shield and First Guardian Master Funds, which resulted in the loss of approximately $1 billion in retirement savings for over 11,000 individuals. ASIC's review of six platform trustees, managing an aggregate of $300 billion, revealed a persistent failure to implement adequate controls over financial advice fees. Specifically, the regulator noted that fee caps were frequently suboptimal or excessively high, with one instance involving a proposed $30,000 cap. Furthermore, a lack of rigorous auditing was observed, as 50% of reviewed trustees failed to conduct advice document checks during at least one month of the observation period.

此次監管審查是由 Shield 與 First Guardian 主基金崩潰所觸發，導致超過 11,000 人損失約 10 億澳元的退休儲蓄。ASIC 對六家管理總額達 3,000 億澳元的平台信託人進行審查，發現其在實施理財建議費之適當控制方面持續失效。監管機構特別指出，費用上限經常不理想或過高，其中一例甚至提出了 3 萬澳元的上限。此外，審查發現缺乏嚴格的審計，在觀察期間，50% 的受審信託人曾在至少一個月內未能進行建議文件檢查。

Institutional growth has outpaced the implementation of risk management frameworks. Between June 2015 and June 2025, member benefits on platforms increased more than threefold, rising from $123 billion to $396 billion, while associated advice fees quadrupled to $2.3 billion. This expansion has created a structural tension between the pursuit of volume growth and the fiduciary obligation to act in the members' best interests. ASIC highlighted a critical lack of due diligence regarding the business models of advice licensees, particularly concerning the utilization of third-party lead generators and the monitoring of anomalous fund flows or member churn.

機構的成長速度已超過風險管理框架的實施進度。在 2015 年 6 月至 2025 年 6 月間，平台的會員權益增加了三倍以上，從 1,230 億澳元增至 3,960 億澳元，而相關的建議費則增至四倍，達到 23 億澳元。這種擴張在追求規模成長與履行對會員最佳利益的受託義務之間，造成了結構性緊張。ASIC 強調，對於建議持牌人的業務模式缺乏盡職調查，特別是關於第三方潛在客戶生成器的使用，以及對異常資金流動或會員流失的監控。

Concurrent with these regulatory findings, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) has identified a demographic shift in information procurement, noting that individuals aged 18 to 34 are ten times more likely to utilize social media for retirement data than those over 65, despite low trust levels in such sources. This trend is exacerbated by a 40% decline in licensed financial advisers over the last decade, coinciding with a 20% increase in superannuation account holders, thereby restricting access to professional guidance.

與這些監管發現同時，澳洲退休金基金協會 (ASFA) 發現資訊獲取的人口結構發生轉移，指出 18 至 34 歲者使用社交媒體獲取退休數據的可能性是 65 歲以上者的十倍，儘管對此類來源的信任度較低。由於過去十年持牌財務顧問減少了 40%，而退休金帳戶持有者增加了 20%，限制了專業指導的獲取，進而加劇了這一趨勢。

ASIC has mandated that trustees immediately rectify these oversight gaps to prevent further financial harm to retirement savings.

ASIC 要求信託人立即填補這些監督漏洞，以防止退休儲蓄遭受進一步的財務損失。