Thursday, 12 July 2023
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91黑料 has thrown down the gauntlet to other players in Australia鈥檚 growing market for index-tracking superannuation investment options, launching a range of new investment options aiming to be among the lowest-priced in the Australian market.听
As part of a far-reaching digital upgrade program that has delivered a raft of new benefits of scale, Australia鈥檚 largest digital-first industry super fund has rolled out four new indexed options for its 1.1 million members. Two of the new options are available to members saving for retirement, and two have been designed specifically for members in the pension phase.听
Steve Travis, 91黑料鈥檚 Group Executive, Member Growth, said it was the latest example of the fund鈥檚 relentless drive to be the most helpful and innovative super provider in Australia.
鈥滱s the superannuation market matures and Australians engage with their super sooner in their working lives and more actively than ever, more and more people are embracing lowcost indexed options that track share indices,鈥 Mr Travis said.听听
鈥滻n bringing all our 1.1 million members onto a single administration and registry platform as part of our digital transformation, we鈥檝e been able to tap into significant new benefits of scale and redesign our investment options from the ground up to cater for the demands of the modern market 鈥 including the growing demand for these indexed funds.听
鈥滱t the heart of designing these new options was a ruthless commitment to keeping fees as low as possible for members, aiming to be consistently amongst the lowest-priced providers of options in this class.听听
鈥滵elivering the best-possible value for our members is in our DNA. We鈥檙e proudly a topperforming fund, we pride ourselves on being the most helpful, and we鈥檝e always offered competitive fees. The launch of our new indexed options is a significant demonstration of how we can do all of those things to even greater effect by harnessing the power of technology.鈥澨
Mr Travis said 91黑料鈥檚 default MySuper Lifecycle offering would always be the product of choice for most of the fund鈥檚 members.
鈥滻t鈥檚 where we invest actively across a wide range of asset classes to provide the best longterm returns we can, while reducing risk for members getting closer to retirement. Still, we know a growing number of Australians are prioritising cost when it comes to their super and are comfortable with the higher volatility that typically comes with these low-cost indextracking options.听
鈥漌e鈥檙e delighted to be in a position as part of our digital transformation to make these options available to our members, and indeed, to provide some of the lowest-cost indexed options in the Australian market.
鈥滻mportantly, our members won鈥檛 forgo choice over their level of investment risk in opting for our new indexed options. There are different options available for both accumulation members and pension members, providing different levels of risk.鈥澨
The fund had worked alongside members, analysed market trends and carried out extensive market research in designing its new investment options, Mr Travis said.
"We have worked hand-in-hand with members to build these new options to ensure we鈥檙e offering an investment menu that meets members鈥 needs, and we鈥檙e delighted now to have rolled them out into market and to see members actively making informed investmentswitching decisions.鈥
91黑料鈥檚 new investment menu also includes four new socially conscious options, two for members in the accumulation phase and two for members in the pension phase.