What is Member Direct?
Member Direct offers you greater control and choice in the investment of your super or retirement income. You can invest in shares, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), term deposits and cash – all from an easy-to-use online platform.
You also get access to real-time trading, extensive market information, independent research and investment tools to help you make informed investment decisions and manage your portfolio. This option suits members who want to be actively involved in managing their investments.
How does it work?
You make your own strategy by investing in your choice of:
- shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index
- Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
- term deposits
To invest you will need to open a cash transaction account, which works like an online bank account and earns a competitive interest rate on the cash that is held in the account.
You transfer money from your other AustralianSuper investment options into this account, and then use this money to invest. You can also do the reverse and transfer money from this transaction account back into your other AustralianSuper options.
Features
Control and flexibility
You can tailor your investment strategy by combining the options you choose in shares, ETFs, term deposits and cash with the investments AustralianSuper make on your behalf in other investment options.
Less paperwork
AustralianSuper takes care of all the administration, compliance and reporting requirements, so you don’t have to.
Lower costs
There aren’t any set-up costs and ongoing fees are low.
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Fees
Portfolio administration fee
The Member Direct investment option has a portfolio administration fee of $395 each year, which includes access to premium market data. This fee is calculated daily and automatically deducted from your Member Direct transaction account on the first business day of each month.
Brokerage fees for shares and ETFs
In addition, brokerage fees apply when you trade shares and ETFs. A flat fee applies to the first $5,000 of your trade. Scaled cumulative brokerage rates apply to each component of your trade value above this, at the levels set out below.
transaction amount
Brokerage Fee*
$0 to $5,000
$15.00 $5,001 to $10,000
0.30% $10,001 to $30,000
0.20% $30,001 to $50,000
0.16% $50,001 +
0.12% For example, if you placed a $35,000 trade, your total brokerage would be $78.00. This is calculated as follows:
trade component
brokerage fee*
Total ($)
First $5,000
$15.00 $15.00
$5,001 to $10,000
0.3% x $5,000
$15.00
$10,001 to $30,000
0.20% x $20,000
$40.00 $30,001 to $50,000
0.16% x $5,000
$8.00
Total brokerage
$78.00
Management fees for Exchange Traded Funds
Management fees for ETFs are generally lower than fees for traditional managed funds. The price which is quoted on the ASX for the ETF reflects that there are fees and expenses incurred in the management of the ETF. Fees incurred by the ETF, such as management fees, and expenses, such as custody costs, are deducted from the returns from the underlying securities in the ETF. These fees and costs may cause the total return of the ETF to be different to the return of the underlying index which the ETF seeks to track. For details of these fees and expenses, please visit the website of the relevant ETF issuer.
You can view the current list of ETFs available in the AustralianSuper Member Direct option on the Investment menu available at australiansuper.com/MemberDirect
Other fees
There are no additional fees for investing in term deposits, but interest rate penalties may apply if you (or your beneficiaries) apply to redeem your term deposit before maturity.
Your effective rate of interest will be reduced in accordance with the following discount factors. Principal reductions and other costs may also apply.
ME Bank term deposits
NAB term deposits
Time invested (% of total term)
Interest rate reductions
time invested (% of total)
Interest rate reduces
0 to <20
90% 0 to 50
50% 20 to <40
80% 10-20% 20% 40 to <60 60% 60 to <80 40% 80 to <100 20%
Fees and charges also apply to the other AustralianSuper investment options you invest in. See the Investment Guide for more details. -
Compare costs and returns
Data from the ATO on Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) shows that for SMSFs with balances of $500k and below, the average annual operating expenses exceeded 3% and the average return on assets was negative.
smsfs 2016 Average expense ratios and average return on assets by fund size~ Fund Size
average expense ratio*
average operating expense ($)^
Average return on assets (%)
$1 - $50,000 14.05% Up to $7,025
- 16.70%
$50,001 - $100,000 7.35% $3,675 to $7,350
- 7.28%
$100,001 - $200,000
6.41% $6,410 to $12,820
- 3.28%
$200 ,001 - $500,000
3.26% $6,250 to $16,300
-0.02% $500,001 - $1 million 1.58% $7,900 to $15,800
1.37% $1,000,001 - $2million 1.06% $10,600 to $21,200
2.15% $2,000,001 and higher 0.69% $13,800 and higher
4.27%
* Expense ratio includes administration, operating and investment expenses.
^ Derived using the average operating expense ratio and the fund size bands.
~ Source: ATO 'Self-managed super funds: a statistical overview 2015–16' -
Member Direct transaction account and term deposit interest rates
Transaction account
The current interest rate for the Member Direct transaction account is shown below. Please note that this rate is gross of any tax that may be applicable.
Transaction Account as at 18 May 2018 2.16% pa Transaction account interest is accrued daily and credited to members’ accounts monthly, in arrears.
Term deposits
The ranges of interest rates for term deposits currently available within the AustralianSuper Member Direct investment option are shown below. Please note that these rates are gross of any tax that may be applicable.
Interest rates current as at 18 May 2018:Term deposit Interest rate or range (% pa) 90 Days 2.50 to 2.56
180 Days 2.59 to 2.75 365 Days 2.60 to 2.80 Interest on term deposits is accrued daily and credited to members’ accounts at the date of maturity.
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Resources(4)
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Seamless Transfer
What is Seamless Transfer?
Seamless Transfer allows you to open a Choice Income account and transfer your Member Direct account in super to your new Choice Income account tax fee. This means you don’t need to sell-down and re-purchase your holdings, avoiding transaction costs and market risk. More importantly, by using Seamless Transfer, you do not trigger a capital gains tax (CGT) event thereby avoiding tax on the gains you may have in Member Direct.What are the benefits of Seamless Transfer?
- It’s tax free as it doesn’t realise any capital gains or losses
- You investments in Member Direct are not out of market using Seamless Transfer
- There are no brokerage costs as there’s no need to sell-down and re-purchase your investments in Member Direct
How does Seamless Transfer work?
Your Choice Income account needs to be opened before Seamless Transfer can take place. We will then transfer the balance of your Member Direct account from your super account to a new Choice Income account. For Seamless Transfer, the whole Member Direct balance must be transferred across – partial transfers of your Member Direct account are not possible. You will remain invested in Shares and ETFs if you hold these investments. Funds in your cash account will be transferred without any change. Any term deposits that have not matured will need to be broken prior to transfer. Your effective interest rate will be reduced in accordance with the discount factors. Go to the ‘Fees’ section for more information.
Note: Members who are in a transition to retirement (TTR) strategy cannot use Seamless Transfer. Their Member Direct account must remain in super.How do I make a Seamless Transfer?
1. Read the Retirement PDS
2. Download the Seamless Transfer form to open a Choice Income account (available under ‘Resources’ on this page)
3. Complete the form and submit by post or email. Return details are on the last page of the form.Note: Depending on your circumstances, Seamless Transfer may not be the best option for you. It is recommended that you seek financial advice to understand the impact of Seamless transfer to your tax position. For more information refer australiansuper.com/advice.
