Australia’s mandatory retirement savings regime has helped produce the world’s fourth largest fund management industry, but a growing trend for self-managing the retirement nest egg is beginning to pose a significant threat.

After more than a decade of the compulsory retirement savings regime, where employers must pay 9 per cent of an employee’s gross wage into the fund of their choice, Australians now have about A$1,000bn (£517bn, €586bn, $8839bn) stashed away in retirement savings, or superannuation.