Vanguard rolls out retail super product

AFTER making a name for itself as an indexing specialist, Vanguard Investments has shifted its focus from the wholesale market to financial planning, launching the Vanguard Personal Superannuation Plan.

Vanguard managing director Jeremy Duffield says the product will appeal to financial planners looking for a low cost option, due to a combination of the tax efficiency of superannuation and the competitive long-term performance and low cost of indexing.

“It is designed for those financial planners who use personal super from active fund managers and allows them to put a percentage of it in indexing,” he says.

Duffield says financial planners will increasingly be attracted to indexing given the relative predictability of indexing and that most planners realise they will be working in a lower return environment.

The Vanguard Personal Superannuation Plan is not commission based and therefore suited to fee-for-service financial planning businesses. There are no entry, contribution or redemption fees, with annual fees ranging from 0.79 per cent to 1.2 per cent.

“We want to be a significant player for financial planners who work with master trusts,” Duffield says.

He says Vanguard will be rolling out the product to dealer groups over the coming months and has added some new business development managers to the project.