House Economics to grill super funds on collusion

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics will hear from super funds and fund managers about common ownership and capital concentration at a public hearing on Monday, September 20, 2021.

Committee chair Tim Wilson MP said, "Super funds control vast assets within Australian listed equities and unlisted assets, often across competing entities. The committee wants to discover whether such concentration of capital and common ownership structures causes negative outcomes for smaller retail shareholders and consumers more generally.

"At our previous hearing, the committee was able to hear from the world’s foremost experts on the theoretical underpinnings of this issue. This hearing gives the committee a chance to question the super funds on the real-world impacts of how the sector’s control of $760 billion in Australian citizens’ retirement savings impacts competition within the Australian market.

"Regulators have raised questions about the consequences of common ownership, and academics have raised concerns about the role of hedge funds, index funds, proxy advisers and super funds in supressing competition and the risks of inaction," Mr Wilson said.

The full Terms of Reference for the inquiry into common ownership and capital concentration are available on the committee’s website.

Public hearing details

Date: Monday, 20 September 2021
Time: 9am to 2pm

A program for the hearing is available on the committee’s website.

Due to health and safety concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, this hearing is not currently scheduled to be open for public attendance. Interested members of the public will be able to view proceedings via the live webcast at aph.gov.au/live.

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