Thursday, 12 July 2023
Aware Super has thrown down the gauntlet to other players in Australia’s 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.
As part of a far-reaching digital upgrade program that has delivered a raft of new benefits of scale, Australia’s 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.
Steve Travis, Aware Super’s Group Executive, Member Growth, said it was the latest example of the fund’s relentless drive to be the most helpful and innovative super provider in Australia.
”As 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,” Mr Travis said.
”In bringing all our 1.1 million members onto a single administration and registry platform as part of our digital transformation, we’ve 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 – including the growing demand for these indexed funds.
”At 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.
”Delivering the best-possible value for our members is in our DNA. We’re proudly a topperforming fund, we pride ourselves on being the most helpful, and we’ve 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.”
Mr Travis said Aware Super’s default MySuper Lifecycle offering would always be the product of choice for most of the fund’s members.
”It’s 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.
”We’re 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.
”Importantly, our members won’t 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.”
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’re offering an investment menu that meets members’ needs, and we’re delighted now to have rolled them out into market and to see members actively making informed investmentswitching decisions.”
Aware Super’s 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.