Superannuation trustees are failing to protect members’ retirement savings from harmful advice fees and inappropriate investments, the corporate regulator has found.

An Australian Securities and Investments Commission review focused on six trustees with investment platforms, managing more than $300 billion.

“While some trustees performed materially better in one or more areas, all had significant room for improvement in their monitoring to protect their members’ retirement savings,” ASIC said.

“We were particularly concerned that in feedback meetings with trustees, a small number of accountable senior executives did not know what advice fee caps and other controls were in place on their platforms.”

Gaps in advice fee caps and poor low-balance member protections are among issues flagged in an ASIC report called Safeguarding Super: How Well Are Platform Trustees Monitoring Risks to Retirement Savings?

“Some trustees noted valid reasons for deducting advice fees from a low-balance account,” the report said. “For example, members might have converted most of their superannuation balance into the retirement phase while leaving a small amount in the accumulation phase to allow for future contributions, holding insurance cover, or managing tax outcomes.”

ASIC commissioner Simone Constant says there is no excuse for the “troubling” lack of protections put in place by some trustees.

“Many of the clear gaps in oversight are deeply concerning and difficult to justify,” she said. “Trustees should not expose their members’ retirement savings to unacceptable risks in the pursuit of volume growth.”

Super Consumers Australia says the ASIC review shows the need for the federal government to introduce mandatory advice fee caps and holding limits, and stronger trustee obligations for high-risk switching into platforms and self-managed super funds.

“It’s staggering that after everything that’s happened, ASIC is seeing so little progress,” CEO Xavier O’Halloran said.

“How can you watch people lose $1.1 billion in hard-earned savings and do nothing to protect your own customers?

“After Shield and First Guardian, no trustee can say they didn’t know the danger.”