Andrew Inwood, the global CEO of research house CoreData, said there is an increasing cognitive dissonance among members – essentially a gap between what are being promoted at the front end of superannuation and what they actually experience. 

“The reality is that there is quite a lot going on inside the communication between superannuation funds and their members,” he told the Fiduciary Investors Symposium in Healesville, Victoria, last month.  

“The amount of money which is in the system, particularly for individual members, is becoming real.” 

He said even comparing to the rest of Australia’s financial service ecosystem, superannuation is lagging behind in understanding the dynamics of audience segments and group behaviours and turn it into effective communications strategy. 

“At the top end of the market, people are starting to save outside of super into trust-based vehicles and family investment offices. It’s one of the fastest growing parts of financial services, which is a perverse outcome for the country.”