The right superannuation system and the right partner play a vital role in a happy, on-going relationship between employees and their employer. SelectingSuper helps employers in the search for the right partner. Superannuation is at an important and exciting stage in its rapid development in Australia. With more than $500 billion of assets at the start of 2003 being invested and saved to produce the retirement incomes of millions of Australians, this is a major industry and represents a significant responsibility for everyone involved. Employers, as the providers of the initial contributions to the compulsory Superannuation Guarantee system, are at the centre of superannuation, whether they like it or not. Understandably, however, many employers would prefer not to have such a responsible position because of the sheer complexity of running a 21st century Australian superannuation fund. The traditional view has been that employers had to look after their employees' retirement savings. But for many this is now an unattainable aim, with the conflicting pressures of running a successful business and the costs and the legal requirements of understanding an increasingly complex superannuation system. As always, the inventive nature of capitalism has developed out-sourcing as a solution and we have seen new, specialist providers of superannuation emerge to meet the new demands. But employers with any sense of stewardship for their employees will realise that out-sourcing of superannuation should be more than a quick, hopefully painless shift of responsibility to someone else. There are important questions to be answered. Does the new provider have the resources, backing and ability to perform? Will employees be properly treated and retain their existing conditions? Will they be able to achieve the best result from their invested savings? Employers who think they can wash their hands of superannuation by simply handing everything over to an outside provider may need to think again. The right superannuation system and the right partner play a vital role in a happy, on-going relationship between employees and their employer. Employees in a well-run superannuation fund which provides them with an understandable product, a fuss-free service and a strategy to provide meaningful retirement income will be happier, more secure - and probably more productive. This highly laudable aim, however, must be pursued through a jungle of competing providers and claims. Rainmaker Information, as the pre-eminent source of information in the superannuation industry, has established SelectingSuper to help employers in this search. Choosing a superannuation services partner may be something which employers do only once. This means it must be done properly, using the right providers and the appropriate information. It is too important a task to approach lightly or to get wrong. If, as I suspect, Rainmaker Information's SelectingSuper achieves the same levels of professional competency and integrity as the group's other services, then employers will be able to count their employees and themselves well served with this Handbook. Barrie Dunstan Associate Editor The Australian Financial Review