A speech by Jeremy Cooper, Deputy Chairman, ASIC, to the ASFA Luncheon, 18 June 2009, Westin Hotel, Sydney
Since starting at ASIC nearly five years ago, I have spent a very large amount of time doing precisely this; talking to people. I would have made hundreds of presentations to external audiences around Australia, and overseas, on a wide range of topics. I have done my best to simplify the complex, get to the point; and even have some fun along the way. (I will have to leave it to my audiences to rate the experience.)
But there's one presentation I would find very difficult: an explanation of fees in super. I don’t think I could get up here and explain super fees to you; let alone a lay audience. Where would I start? How could I explain the web of charges and commissions, splits between players, volume and other sorts of rebates, shelf fees, contribution fees, exit fees, asset level versus account level, buy/sell spreads and maybe even arrangements I don't yet know about? Surely, nobody could follow it without studying a diagram, unless, of course, they have been living with it for years.