The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has found that some superannuation trustees and auditors still do not adequately assess and challenge valuations of unlisted investments. Its second review, covering 42 registrable superannuation entity financial reports and six audits, found weaknesses that could affect members’ account balances, reported returns, fees and retirement outcomes. The findings continue ASIC’s scrutiny of risks to retirement savings within a superannuation sector holding nearly AUD 4.8 trillion in assets. Some trustees relied heavily on fair value information from external fund managers, limiting their ability to challenge key assumptions and estimates. Other concerns included delays in adjusting member liabilities after significant investment write-downs and disclosures that gave limited insight into valuation techniques, inputs, judgments and uncertainty. Some auditors did not sufficiently test externally supplied prices or obtain adequate evidence for internally managed investment valuations. ASIC will continue its surveillance in 2026–27 and expand it to managed investment schemes. It plans to review financial reports from 20 registrable superannuation entities and 20 schemes, conduct four audit surveillances in each sector, and consider audit deficiency reports or enforcement action where it identifies significant breaches of the Corporations Act 2001.
Australian Securities and Investments Commission finds persistent shortcomings in super fund valuations of unlisted investments
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found persistent weaknesses in how some super funds and auditors assess unlisted investment valuations. Trustees relied too heavily on external managers, while some auditors did not adequately test prices or obtain sufficient evidence. ASIC will extend its 2026–27 surveillance to managed investment schemes and consider regulatory or enforcement action for significant breaches.