Two super funds announce fee changes

Vanguard Super and legalsuper have both announced fee changes that will come into effect in December, as outlined in recent significant event notices.

Effective 6 December 2023, Vanguard Super will be introducing the ability for members to pay advice fees via a deduction from their SaveSmart accounts.

With written consent, members can agree that personal advice provided by a licensed financial adviser registered with Vanguard, relating to the SaveSmart account, can be paid via a deduction from the account.

The payment of advice fees will also be subject to certain limits, such as a minimum balance of $25,000 at the time of deduction and that the advice fee payable cannot be over 2 per cent of the account balance at the time of deduction.

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Vanguard has also capped the total amount of advice fees deducted each financial year at $6,000, inclusive of GST. 

“Advice fees can only be deducted from your account as a single payment each time you receive personal advice, and your consent is required on each occasion. Advice fees cannot be deducted from your account on an ongoing or periodic basis,” Vanguard added. 

The facility has not been extended to Vanguard MySuper members.

The fund also announced an additional asset class, Australian government bonds, will be added to its Ethically Conscious Growth investment option from 6 December to join its existing five asset classes. 

Meanwhile, legalsuper has announced changes to the investment fees and costs for each of its investment options, effective 14 December 2023.

The current MySuper investment fees and costs of 0.52 per cent will increase by 0.10 per cent to 0.62 per cent.

“We are implementing these increases to continue investing in improving products and services to assist members to build their wealth and quality of life in retirement,” legalsuper chief executive, Luke Symons, told Super Review.

“Our administration fees have remained at the same level for the past four years and we have passed on to members reductions in MySuper investment fees of 14.0 per cent in 2020 and a further 2.0 per cent in 2021.”

According to the fund, there are over 29,000 members invested in the MySuper option or some 64.2 per cent of total member numbers. It returned 7.9 per cent for FY22–23.