SSB launches portable super plan

Solomon Smith Barney Asset Management Australia have steered away from giving adding an advice model to its new portable superannuation plan.

Solomon Smith Barney Asset Management Australia have steered away from giving adding an advice model to its new portable superannuation plan.

Solomon Smith Barney (SSB) retirement services director Vincent O’Brien says the company considered the idea of adding an advice model to its first non-commission, low-fee superannua-tion product but did not want to rush into advising at this stage.

“We have toyed with an advice model, but we’re not in the business of moving away from su-perannuation,” O’ Brien says but rather SSB was more concerned with promoting the new super plan.

Under the new scheme members will be able to hold on to their super when they change employ-ers and will not pay commission to external advisers.

Instead members will choose from one of 21 investment options, eight of which are managed by Salomon Smith Barney.

O'Brien says employees are becoming increasingly educated about their superannuation and should have free choice over how they invest it.

“Members are wanting to take control over their superannuation and why not? It is their money, they should be able to do with it as they please,” he says.

O'Brien says despite most superannuation currently being managed by companies' trustee boards, there is a new shift towards employees choosing their own super schemes.

“It’s a different workforce today. Its uncommon for people to stay with one or two employers throughout their entire working life, so why force someone to cash out of a plan when the obvi-ous solution is to have contributions paid into one plan that the member can carry with them wherever they go? It’s a much similar, more commonsense solution, says O’Brien.