Superannuation fund investment chiefs concede the $4.1 trillion sector’s influence over the economy and capital markets poses a risk to the stability of the financial system, but insist they are a more stable flow of financing and share ownership than alternatives such as hedge funds.

The Reserve Bank of Australia warned last year that super’s rapid growth and its large stake in the country’s major banks had created new risks to financial stability and could amplify shocks in the future, especially because funds often invest as a pack.