Super fees converging: Chant West
Industry super fund fees are going up while retail master trusts and public sector funds are remaining stable, according to the latest Chant West fees report.
The report looks at fee trends over the past three years across master trusts (both retail and corporate versions), industry super funds and public sector funds.
The report found that for retail investors master trusts are more expensive than not-for-profit industry and public sector funds but that in the corporate super market the gap between master trusts and not-for-profit funds is significant, much smaller.
Chant West principal Warren Chant said that the report showed that public sector funds are a reasonable option for anyone looking for good value on super.
“We believe that most Australians should be in an industry or public sector fund,” he said.
The study also identified a number of factors that have affected fees over the past few years.
“The biggest driver has been choice of fund, which came into operation in July 2005,” Chant said.
“That changed the landscape completely... it became important to have a competitive offering in terms of fees.”
Chant noted that while in some cases this has meant a reduction in fees, particularly in the case of some master trusts, many industry funds have had an increase in fees and costs.
“Competition has meant that many industry funds have had to increase their marketing budgets... they have also been more thorough in their fee disclosure, which has resulted in an increase in their published costs,” he said.
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