Maritime Super has paid $26,640 to comply with infringements related to misleading statements made about its investment partnership with Hostplus.
The fund, which entered into an investment partnership with Hostplus in April 2021, had told members that this would result in reduced overall investment management fees for members.
However, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said it was concerned as it actually resulted in increased investment costs for 77% of Maritime members and higher fees for six of its 11 investment options.
Sarah Court, ASIC deputy chair, said: “The superannuation industry is going through a period of consolidation and change. As such, it is crucial that consumers and fund members are provided accurate information so that they can make informed decisions about their super. In this case, we were concerned that Maritime members may have been misled by the communications about fees.’
“ASIC has a number of regulatory tools to address alleged misconduct where we are concerned that consumer harm may occur, including the issuing of infringement notices.”
Maritime paid the two infringement notice penalties on 22 April, 2022 and issued a corrective disclosure to members last August.
