From my experience of superannuation and reading about the sector, the industry funds perform better overall than their private partners and don’t skim off a percentage of investors’ money to pay their shareholders.

I’d find Mr Bartholemeusz’s argument a bit more convincing if he had backed it up with an analysis of performance, which is the reason he’s criticising the AIRC.

I have just joined a private sector media company which signed me up (without asking me or giving me an option to remain with my existing super fund … which happens to be an industry one) to their own private fund. I wasn’t happy and have told the HR department to make sure my super goes into my existing fund.

Bartholemeusz suggests (and draws a long bow while he does it) that the AIRC move will force the collapse of small private super funds. Well hello, he’s been writing long enough about business to realise that companies go to the wall. If a company is that vulnerable it’s probably not a good idea to have your money there.

You’ve just suggested I subscribe to Crikey. You are going to have to do better than this.

Having watched the outrageous fees extracted from many of the ‘for-profit’ funds (regardless of their performance!) the industry funds seem a perfectly logical choice as defaults.

Given we have SuperChoice, any employee is free to choose if they don’t like default.