Business · Markets · 13 hrs ago
Scott Pape warns against moving superannuation into cash in a panic
AustralianSuper members moved $1.27 billion into cash in September, a 51 per cent increase from the previous month.
Investor Scott Pape warned Australians not to switch their super in a panic over fears of a sharemarket crash.
Pape said social media algorithms can repeatedly show people alarming financial predictions because fear attracts attention.
People who sell investments need to time both their exit and their return, and may miss a market rebound while waiting.
The warning matters because superannuation is money saved for retirement, and moving it can affect how those savings are invested.
Pape urged readers to be wary of social media financial advice and, in advice to a 15-year-old, encouraged reading and spending time on real-world activities.
Scott Pape warned Australians against moving their superannuation into cash in anticipation of a market crash.
AustralianSuper members moved $1.27 billion into cash in September, a 51 per cent rise from the previous month.
Pape said social media algorithms amplify frightening predictions and can influence people’s financial decisions.
He said switching to cash requires investors to time both their exit from the market and their return.
Pape also urged people to seek financial guidance beyond social media.
- Who
- Scott Pape, known as the Barefoot Investor, warned Australians about moving superannuation into cash.
- What
- He cautioned against panic-driven switches to cash amid fears of a market crash.
- When
- The reported $1.27 billion shift was in September. The article was published on 9 November 2026.
- Where
- Australia; the figure concerned AustralianSuper members.
- Why
- Pape said fear-driven social media content can prompt people to sell investments, and that they must time both leaving and re-entering the market.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
AustralianSuper members shifted $1.27 billion into cash, a 51 per cent increase from the previous month.
The Daily Mail published Pape’s warning against moving superannuation into cash in a panic.
- Cash shift
- $1.27 billion moved by AustralianSuper members
- Change
- 51 per cent higher than the previous month
- Reported month
- September
- Warning
- Scott Pape advised against panic-driven moves into cash
- Published
- 9 November 2026
1 source
What people are saying
They get fed more of those stories every day because the algorithm knows that fear works
The problem is they actually need to be right not once, but twice: get out before the market crashes, and get back in before it rebounds.
Nothing life-changing happens while you're staring at a screen.