mwgster Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Hi All I am here in sunny Australia and am permanently employed. The company I work for has it's own Super Fund but is not QROPS registered. I have been looking at a myriad of Superannuation schemes and as somebody else on here has posted, am super confused! ha I realise that maybe I need to be paying for the advice of a financial/pension specialist but just to at least get me started, are there any super funds that would come recommended. I am looking for a fund I can move from job to job, has death benefit &/or income protection, does not have massive fees, is QROPS registered so that I can transfer my UK funds but most of all that is simple enough for me to manage!! Any advice would be much appreciated... Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cki2011 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I am in the same situation.... I was going to post very similar so will be good to see any replies.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I'm with Australian super fund. I can't compare it to others, but it does have a good online service, and allows a little flexibility. It is no where near as flexible as my UK pension, but it is adequate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cki2011 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I'm with Australian super fund. I can't compare it to others, but it does have a good online service, and allows a little flexibility. It is no where near as flexible as my UK pension, but it is adequate. I am with Australian Super.... I Got my paperwork Friday along with a card with my membership number on etc.... I have a form to fill in but it is all set up through work.... Do you know if I can transfer my uk pension to this.?.... Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newjez Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I am with Australian Super.... I Got my paperwork Friday along with a card with my membership number on etc.... I have a form to fill in but it is all set up through work.... Do you know if I can transfer my uk pension to this.?.... Thanks Sorry, I'm not sure. I looked into going from oz to the UK, and I would have had to pay tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 (edited) I am looking for a fund I can move from job to job, has death benefit &/or income protection, does not have massive fees, is QROPS registered so that I can transfer my UK funds but most of all that is simple enough for me to manage!! The ONLY funds worth looking at are the big industry funds. The retail funds are all run by big banks who want to make a fat profit from you, so their fees are a disgrace. I'm with CBus, I've also heard good things about Australian Super. There's a fund for each industry, but it doesn't really matter which one you pick. All super funds must be transferable from job to job these days, it's the law! Don't get one with death benefit or income protection - it's more expensive to get that cover through your super fund. You don't always know it because the fees are hidden away in "admin charges'. Buy a separate policy and you'll pay half the premium. If you're tempted by a commercial super fund - and I strongly advise against it - ask for their full product disclosure statements and spend a couple of days digging through them. Retail funds can appear to be offering great returns, but after they deduct their fees it's not nearly as impressive - and it's hard to work out what those fees are going to be. Most funds are modular these days - i.e. they have a variety of sub-funds you can choose to invest in. The snag is that each of those sub-funds is run by a manager who charges another fee. The retail fund doesn't have to tell you what that is. Avoid any super fund run by the big four banks (they have various names but look for the small print to see who owns them). They only invest in their own products, even if other avenues might offer better returns. Avoid AXA - I was with them for a while, it's a shambles, and trying to transfer from them is a nightmare. Edited January 19, 2014 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 I am with Australian Super.... I Got my paperwork Friday along with a card with my membership number on etc.... I have a form to fill in but it is all set up through work.... Do you know if I can transfer my uk pension to this.?.... Yes, they're registered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) The ONLY funds worth looking at are the big industry funds. The retail funds are all run by big banks who want to make a fat profit from you, so their fees are a disgrace. I'm with CBus, I've also heard good things about Australian Super. There's a fund for each industry, but it doesn't really matter which one you pick. All super funds must be transferable from job to job these days, it's the law! Don't get one with death benefit or income protection - it's more expensive to get that cover through your super fund. You don't always know it because the fees are hidden away in "admin charges'. Buy a separate policy and you'll pay half the premium. If you're tempted by a commercial super fund - and I strongly advise against it - ask for their full product disclosure statements and spend a couple of days digging through them. Retail funds can appear to be offering great returns, but after they deduct their fees it's not nearly as impressive - and it's hard to work out what those fees are going to be. Most funds are modular these days - i.e. they have a variety of sub-funds you can choose to invest in. The snag is that each of those sub-funds is run by a manager who charges another fee. The retail fund doesn't have to tell you what that is. Avoid any super fund run by the big four banks (they have various names but look for the small print to see who owns them). They only invest in their own products, even if other avenues might offer better returns. Avoid AXA - I was with them for a while, it's a shambles, and trying to transfer from them is a nightmare. I am sorry but there are so many incorrect statements here that I have to pipe up. Industry Funds have their place but so do Retail Funds, just because a company is a profit making company it does not make them non-competitive. There are some very badly run and underperforming Industry Funds out there. Insurance premiums are not more expensive inside super than outside super, if you choose an Industry Fund you will generally be getting group cover which is much less comprehensive than retail cover. If you have a Retail Fund you may be able to get Group cover and/or Retail cover. Retail cover is much more comprehensive then Group cover and therefore dearer (you get what you pay for) however Retail cover outside of Super are not half the premiumsand costs are around the same, in actual fact if held inside super it can make the life and TPD insurance premiums tax efficient. Fees are not hidden by Retail Funds and in actual fact their disclosure with fees is very transparent more so than Industry Funds in cases. Fund Managers report their returns net of Management Fees, so actually it is the net performance you want to look at in general. The big 4 Banks offer funds that allow investments into a vast range of fund managers including those that are not owned by them, the administration platform will be bank owned but the investment options are not always. There are so many different types of Super Funds that it can be a complex area but a fund with higher fees is not necessarily a bad thing, it depends on what you want in a fund and how you wish to invest your money. Since FOFA (Future of Financial Advice) has been implemented commissions have been banned from within super funds and the Retail product manufacturers have been building products for a number of years without commissions inbuilt. This means that there are a number of Retail Funds that have offerings where fees are just as low if not lower than Industry Funds, of course these are for products that have limited choice of investments like Industry Funds generally do. Regards Andy Edited January 20, 2014 by Andrew from Vista Financial 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I am with Australian Super.... I Got my paperwork Friday along with a card with my membership number on etc.... I have a form to fill in but it is all set up through work.... Do you know if I can transfer my uk pension to this.?.... Thanks They do have QROPS status however a new fund would be required to be opened as they do not allow QROPS monies to mix with non-QROPS monies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest littlesarah Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 My experience, having paid for financial advice and a company to make the transfer for me, is that having a separate super fund for a transferred pension can increase one's superannuation investment diversity. For example, one may have taken a defined benefits option (which has its advantages and potential pitfalls), in which case having some super in a more directly investment-related scheme offers the potential to realise greater returns on part of one's super with the remainder in a more predictable scheme. Equally, one may decide to take a higher-risk strategy with one's transferred monies, etc etc. It's always important to consider fees, and I totally 'get' that having two schemes means two lots of fees, however, in some cases it may be possible to end up with a larger pot of money at retirement, despite higher fees, by investing in two different ways. I would not have been able to sort through the myriad of available options by myself, and although the advice I've received hasn't come for free (or even close to!) - ultimately I paid for someone who knows the regulations in Australia and the UK, and who has experience of making the necessary calculations to present the different scenarios in language I can understand, to guide me through what seems to me to be a complex area. I'm sure one can 'go it alone', but I have to admit this is not an area in which I have huge experience or expertise, and I figured it made more sense to pay someone to sort things out than spend a lot of time and energy to do it by myself. I should add, that I decided not to use one of the companies (which include at least one bank) who will make the transfer relatively cheaply, but who are not registered financial advisor, because the decision to transfer or not was, in my case at least, one that needed careful weighing up. I also realised that transferred monies could offer diversification, which suited me because my employment-based scheme is rather restrictive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Also look out for transfer fees................the NHS wanted an exorbitant amount of money for transfer so we left it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) [quote name=Andrew from Vista Financial;1936418710 Fees are not hidden by Retail Funds and in actual fact their disclosure with fees is very transparent more so than Industry Funds in cases. Fund Managers report their returns net of Management Fees' date=' so actually it is the net performance you want to look at in general. The big 4 Banks offer funds that allow investments into a vast range of fund managers including those that are not owned by them, the administration platform will be bank owned but the investment options are not always. I'm only going from my own experience. My husband looked at several funds when he changed jobs. The percentage fee quoted by all the retail funds wasn't what it appeared to be, because most of them offered the chance to invest in several different funds. It was only after getting the full disclosure statement (which wasn't always available on their website, we had to ask for it) that we found statements like, "this fund is managed by ..... who charge a management fee", and we then had to search through the rest of the document to find what that fee was. When you added them all up, they came to considerably more than the fee on the glossy brochure. It's true, if the fund is doing well that doesn't matter, but in a low-interest environment, you don't want to be in a fund that has a high percentage fee. As for the big banks - yes, you'd think so in theory, but didn't you read the articles in the newspapers recently about how they've been favouring their own funds over better-performing competitors? I'd have thought in your position, you'd be better informed. But of course, you earn commissions if people buy into a retail super fund. Edited January 20, 2014 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I'm only going from my own experience. My husband looked at several funds when he changed jobs. The percentage fee quoted by all the retail funds wasn't what it appeared to be, because most of them offered the chance to invest in several different funds. It was only after getting the full disclosure statement (which wasn't always available on their website, we had to ask for it) that we found statements like, "this fund is managed by ..... who charge a management fee", and we then had to search through the rest of the document to find what that fee was. When you added them all up, they came to considerably more than the fee on the glossy brochure. It's true, if the fund is doing well that doesn't matter, but in a low-interest environment, you don't want to be in a fund that has a high percentage fee. As for the big banks - yes, you'd think so in theory, but didn't you read the articles in the newspapers recently about how they've been favouring their own funds over better-performing competitors? I'd have thought in your position, you'd be better informed. But of course, you earn commissions if people buy into a retail super fund. Hmmm rather patronising me thinks. Better informed from a newspaper article? Also again another incorrect statement as I do not work on commissions from Super and never have done, I work on fee for service and for your information can advise on Industry Funds as well. If this is your own experience that is fine but you cannot make statements like you did that are incorrect without people picking up on it, I was pointing out the facts to make it a fair playing field for other members reading. Kind regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Also look out for transfer fees................the NHS wanted an exorbitant amount of money for transfer so we left it there. Hi Jd I have never come across a situation whereby the NHS require a fee to transfer, sometimes they may request a fee for the calculation of a Cash Equivalent Tansfer Value (CETV) if they have provided more than 1 free one within a 12 month period but other than that they do not charge. Perhaps the fee was for the services of a company to transfer the Pension? Regards Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peterevanson Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hey Andrew, Good suggestion. Keep sharing. Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johndoe Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Hi Jd I have never come across a situation whereby the NHS require a fee to transfer, sometimes they may request a fee for the calculation of a Cash Equivalent Tansfer Value (CETV) if they have provided more than 1 free one within a 12 month period but other than that they do not charge. Perhaps the fee was for the services of a company to transfer the Pension? Regards Andy I'm going back about 18 yrs so things must have changed, but yes, the charge was from the NHS (I'm guessing) as they didn't mention an intermediate company. I still have the paperwork. Red NHS heading on brown paper of all things! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tina2 Posted January 30, 2014 Share Posted January 30, 2014 Have a look at http://www.colonialfirststate.com.au even in the GFC funds did well, and have done very very well in the last 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 I'm going back about 18 yrs so things must have changed, but yes, the charge was from the NHS (I'm guessing) as they didn't mention an intermediate company. I still have the paperwork. Red NHS heading on brown paper of all things! Thanks for confirming Jd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew from Vista Financial Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Hi All I am here in sunny Australia and am permanently employed. The company I work for has it's own Super Fund but is not QROPS registered. I have been looking at a myriad of Superannuation schemes and as somebody else on here has posted, am super confused! ha I realise that maybe I need to be paying for the advice of a financial/pension specialist but just to at least get me started, are there any super funds that would come recommended. I am looking for a fund I can move from job to job, has death benefit &/or income protection, does not have massive fees, is QROPS registered so that I can transfer my UK funds but most of all that is simple enough for me to manage!! Any advice would be much appreciated... Martin Hi Martin This thread may help: http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/financial-advice-ask-vista/204263-superannuation-funds-information-thread.html Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.