Around 1 million Aussies have applied for early access to their superannuation, as a means to help ease the financial burden from job losses, furloughs and redundancies in the wake of COVID-19.

But in a Senate inquiry yesterday, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) said not everyone was doing it legally.

The Tax Office is monitoring accounts where it appears people’s details are being used as part of a scam. Five search warrants have been issued while a number of bank accounts have been frozen, with access halted to around $120,000 in funds.

The breach was discovered on April 30 and subsequently referred to the AFP, which said there were up to 150 potential victims.

So far, (legal) claims made for early super have totalled around $9bn. Eligible applicants can apply for a $10,000 payment until June 30, with a further $10,000 payment potentially available in the June quarter.

According to The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia, by the end of 2019 the total pool of superannuation assets amounted to $3 trillion.

To markets, and most people’s super funds were probably a little worse off today as the ASX200 fell by 0.65 per cent into midday trade, dragged lower by the big banks.

The Small Ords Index was more resilient, trading flat at around 2,378 points.

 

SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm on Thursday May 7:

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

CODE COMPANY PRICE CHANGE MARKET CAP
IPT Impact Minerals Ltd 0.017 88.89% $26.4M
PKO Peako 0.012 71.43% $1.6M
AGE Alligator Energy Ltd 0.005 66.67% $7.1M
ELT Elementos Ltd 0.003 50.00% $7.6M
XCD Xcd Energy 0.01 42.86% $7.0M
CY5 Cygnus Gold 0.059 40.48% $2.9M
LOM Lucapa Diamond Co Ltd 0.066 34.69% $25.8M
CZL Consolidated Zinc 0.004 33.33% $5.2M
88E 88 Energy 0.006 30.00% $35.6M
IOD Iodm 0.125 25.00% $55.3M
MAY Melbana Energy 0.005 25.00% $9.3M
SHK Stone Resources Australia 0.005 25.00% $3.3M
S66 Star Combo Pharma 0.52 23.81% $36.4M
DXN DXN 0.011 22.22% $4.1M
BOC Bougainville Copper 0.25 21.95% $82.2M
MOZ Mosaic Brands 0.69 21.05% $55.2M
SCI Silver City Minerals Ltd 0.012 20.00% $3.7M
LSR Lodestar Minerals Ltd 0.006 20.00% $4.3M
OVT Ovato 0.02 17.65% $12.4M
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Junior explorer Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) led the pack, after announcing a strong drilling result at its fully owned Broken Hill project in NSW.

A seven-hole diamond drilling operation at the site initially produced strong grades of palladium, platinum and gold, the company said.

However, new assay results also showed high-grades of the rare platinum group (RPG) elements — rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium.

Follow-up drilling will be carried out “as soon as practicable following the issue of statutory permissions”, Impact said.

 

SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks at 12pm on Thursday May 7:

Swipe or scroll to reveal the full table. Click headings to sort.

CODE COMPANY PRICE CHANGE MARKET CAP
PCL Pancontinental Oil&Gas 0.001 -33.33% $8.1M
ROG Red Sky Energy 0.001 -33.33% $2.4M
TMK Tamaska Oil and Gas Ltd 0.005 -28.57% $4.5M
AFR African Energy Resources 0.022 -24.14% $13.7M
R2M E2 Metals 0.15 -21.05% $13.8M
DHR Dark Horse Resources 0.002 -20.00% $5.0M
AX8 Accelerate Resources 0.016 -20.00% $952K
MHC Manhattan 0.009 -18.18% $10.1M
RDN Raiden 0.005 -16.67% $2.2M
CML Chase Mining 0.01 -16.67% $2.1M
JPR Jupiter Energy 0.045 -15.09% $7.1M
ANA Ansila Energy NL 0.006 -14.29% $3.1M
HNR Hannans Reward Ltd 0.006 -14.29% $11.9M
KAS Kasbah Resources 0.012 -14.29% $1.6M
AVE Avecho Bio 0.007 -12.50% $11.2M
ABT Abundant Produce 0.015 -11.76% $1.3M
MRM MMA Offshore 0.07 -10.26% $64.8M
SGQ St George Mining Ltd 0.09 -10.00% $35.1M
MSE Metalsearch 0.009 -10.00% $10.6M
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