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), Listed Investment Companies (LICs), 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)
- Listed Investment Companies (LICs)
- 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, LICs, 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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Guides, forms and fact sheets(4)
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Fees
The following fees apply to the AustralianSuper Member Direct option:
- Cash account fee
- Portfolio Administration Fee (PAF)
- Brokerage costs (if you trade in shares)
- You may also incur penalties if you break your term deposits before they mature.
Cash Account option Term deposits option Shares, ETFs & LICs option Fees (inc gst) Cash account fee 0.12% pa of the balance
0.12% pa of the balance
0.12% pa of the balance
Portfolio Administration Fee (PAF) - $150 pa
$395 pa
These fees are calculated daily and automatically deducted from your transaction account on the first business day of each month.
Term Deposit fees
If you (or your beneficiaries) redeem your term deposit(s) prior to their maturity date, penalties will apply. Our effective rate of interest will be reduced in accordance with the following discount factors. Principal reductions and other costs may also apply. See table below.
ME Bank term deposits
Nab term deposits
Time invested
(% of total term)Interest
rate
reducesTime invested
(% of total term)Interest
rate
reduces0 to <20
90%
0 to 50
0 to 50
20 to <50
80%
>50
20%
40 to <60
60%
60 to <80
40%
80 to <100
20%
Brokerage fees
If you choose to trade in shares, ETFs and LICs the following brokerage fees will apply. 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.
For details on the management fees for the ETFs and/or LICs, please visit the ETF or LIC provider's website - see the investment menu at australiansuper.com/memberdirect.
Other fees
You will also pay an AustralianSuper administration fee and investment fees for investment options that are managed by Australian Super for you (e.g. PreMixed or DIY Mix options). Investment management fees vary depending on the investment option you choose. See the Investment Guide for more details.
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Interest rates for cash account and term deposits
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 17 January 2020 1.65% 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 17 January 2020:Term deposit Interest rate or range (% pa) 90 Days 1.55 to 1.65
180 Days 1.60 to 1.75 365 Days 1.53 to 1.70 Interest on term deposits is accrued daily and credited to members’ accounts at the date of maturity.
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Compare costs and returns
Data from the ATO on Self-Managed Super Funds (SMSFs) shows that for SMSFs with balances of $200k and below, the average annual operating expenses exceeded 6% and the average return on assets was negative.
* Expense ratio includes administration, operating and investment expenses.smsfs 2016 Average expense ratios and average return on assets by fund size~ Fund Size
average expense ratio*
average operating expense ($)^
Average return on assets (%)
$1 - $50,000 14.29% Up to $7,145
−14.67% $50,001 - $100,000 6.92% $3,460 to $6,920 −5.39% $100,001 - $200,000
6.39% $6,390 to $12,780 −0.48% $200 ,001 - $500,000
3.36% $6,720 to $16,800 4.65% $500,001 - $1 million 1.58% $7,900 to $15,800
7.01% $1,000,001 - $2million 1.01% $10,100 to $20,200 8.37% $2,000,001 and higher 0.67% $13,400 and higher 12.89%
^ Derived using the average operating expense ratio and the fund size bands.
~ Source: ATO 'Self-managed super funds: a statistical overview 2016–17' -
Seamless Transfer to Choice Income
You can now maintain your Member Direct investments when you move your super balance to a Choice Income account. By requesting a Seamless Transfer to Choice Income you don’t need to sell-down and re-purchase your investments, avoiding transaction costs and market risk. More importantly, by using Seamless Transfer, you do not trigger a tax event or incur brokerage costs.
