Industry superannuation giant HESTA has been forced to compensate more than 120,000 members after it left their retirement savings stranded in unlisted assets whose value plummeted in the pandemic’s early days.

The prudential regulator said the fund’s deficient procedures for revaluing assets left members worse off – in one example, a customer was down $17,000 in just one week – as it failed to adjust its investments when the COVID-19 crisis hit.