Australians pay higher administration on their super accounts than workers in comparable countries because domestic super funds invest more often and with more diversity than their foreign peers, a new study by the actuary Deloitte has found.

And Australians' ability to choose the right fund was frustrated by a lack of clear comparisons between retail, self-managed, corporate and industry funds, says the International Superannuation and Pension Fund Fees' report.

The report, commissioned by the Investment and Financial Services Association, did not compare the various funds' investment performance.

Regulatory intervention could improve consistency across the super sector, the association's new chief executive, John Brogden, said yesterday.

"Until the Government says 'This is how we will report' ... we run the risk of spending money with the hope of improving accountability [but] without doing that," he said.
Deloitte's study also found that, on average, large Australian funds charged members about 0.42 per cent of assets for investment management, compared with a global average of about 0.34.

However, this was because all Australian funds invest more heavily in private equity, listed property and equities than in foreign funds.

Many foreign funds pay members a defined pension and were conservative investors, whereas Australian funds managed compulsory contributions and were designed to make money grow, Mr Brogden said.

Administration costs would fall if the industry consolidated, he said, and members in larger funds already benefited from economies of scale.