So, here we are again! Back in amongst the conga line of retail superfund disasters which seems to be forever growing.

This time we have a brand new item on the menu of deceit. Mercer (the cook in the kitchen) has served up a stinking dish full of oil companies, alcohol merchants & gambling dens to diners (individual member investors) who ticked the box of being “deeply committed to sustainability”. This dish was labelled as the “sustainable plus option” despite pumping the members invested capital into a crowd of naughty little petrol, piss & ciggy merchants. This practice is apparently so common that it now has its own special name; its called “green washing” which means to falsely claim environmental credentials. ASIC didn’t like it &, on top of slapping Mercer with $140k in fines, has now commenced proceedings in the Federal Court to further lambast the deceitful funds manager.

What would be enlightening to understand is how much additional costs will be incurred in relation to defending and/ or settling/negotiating this matter & more specifically, where the cash will be coming from to pay said additional costs. I’ve highlighted previously the damage done when retail trustees cross subsidise rectification costs  https://solveaccounting.com.au/superfunds-where-does-this-cash-come-from/ It seems the unsuspecting & long suffering Mercer members are the next in the long line of retail superfund investors about to get stiffed by their fund managers’ deplorable, misleading & deceptive conduct.

Having studied this & now lived through countless examples of retail superfund disasters, & having paid attention to a Royal Commission on this very topic, I repeat my warnings to everyone about wading into the retail / industry superfund swamp. Specifically, don’t be fooled into thinking that your funds are being used to benefit you. They are most likely being secretly plundered to support a broken corporate bureaucracy which pays lip service to your best interests while extracting the maximum allowable rent possible. Again, to exit this swamp, all retail or industry fund members should seriously consider establishing a low cost, simple self managed superfund.

Call Chris at Solve on 0414 985 724 or email chris@solveaccounting.com.au to discuss your options.

NOTE: the above is NOT personal financial advice. Solve is NOT a financial planner is not holding itself out to be one. Solve Accounting is a low cost, fixed fee for service SMSF administrator which operates wholly within the rules outlined in ASIC info sheet 216.