AustralianSuper enhances SMSF-style product

AustralianSuper has targeted member retention with its Member Direct investment option, which will allow members to construct their own portfolios from S&P/ASX 300 stocks, exchange-traded funds and term deposits.

Member Direct is an enhancement of AustralianSuper's ASX 200 option, with a broader range of stocks to invest in and more frequent trading.

AustralianSuper general manager of product Noel Lacey said part of the rationale behind the Member Direct option was member retention, with people increasingly looking for the control that can be found in self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).

"We had members who were thinking they could get these arrangements elsewhere, so it was a case of giving them a product that met their needs," he added.

Members wanted to be able to turn around trades just as quickly as the superannuation funds' investment managers, Lace said.

"They want to pick a stock, decide what percentage of their asset allocation it will take up and change it when they want to do it … that's the driving behaviour," Lacey said.

However, he said it was important for members to understand that the Member Direct option was not an SMSF, in case they intended to use it for estate planning or to hold an investment property.

Lacey said that in terms of the take-up of the direct investment option, there was a fairly even spread across age ranges.

"The spread is slightly older than our average member, but it's a pretty good spread from early 20s to late 50s. The spread is stronger for 40-50 year olds. Younger professional people are happy to get in there," he said.

The minimum account balance is set at $10,000, with a 30 basis points brokerage fee and a $180 annual administration fee, and Lacey conceded that the Member Direct option could end up being quite expensive for frequent traders with low account balances.

However, he said the majority of people taking up the ASX 200 option in the past were not day traders - they were just looking for a similar level of control that could be found in SMSFs.

The Member Direct option also includes the term deposits offered by ME Banks and NAB, along with a range of ETFs.