Shot81

HI Guys,

I need to setup a Super fund, working as a contractor and they have asked me where to put the 9%
I have had a look on google and can see loads of superfunds, but god know which one to pick as i dont want to pay loads of charges etc..., do i pick a bank and have a super fund with ANZ /westpac etc.... or should i pick a fund, if so could someone recommend some ?

cheers

Shot81

Wol

Industry super funds have much lower fees, and perform at least as well as the ones with dozens of besuited analysts, by all accounts.

medwaymark

Take a look on here http://www.industrysuper.com/

Swerv-o

Also have a look at Virgin Super - Not an Industry fund, but a very simple and flat fee structure that is easy to understand. I did some calculations originally, and Virgin came out ahead of many of the Industry funds, apart from possibly Care and another one that I fail to recall.


S

AndrewMarilyn

Excuse my naivety, I am starting work in Sydney in January and hadn't even considered where the Super money would go!

I assume that it has to be invested in an Australian recognised/approved fund OR can it be paid anywhere....like a UK savings account? (I suspect not!)

Over to you....

Wol

You probably need to get some proper advice - you can save a lot of tax by doing things in certain ways or you can sometimes screw it up!

AndrewMarilyn

Proper advice then please guys.... thanks

ABCDiamond

Well, there is the ABCDiamond super fund, but I think proper advice may be better.......

Most employers have a default fund option, and you can switch it from them whenever you want to.

Choosing a super fund is like picking the best mobile phone plan, and keeping your fingers crossed.

Swerv-o

They all seem to win some and lose some each year. It's a bit like a merry-go-round. The best thing you can do is choose the one with fewest fees and charges, so that your money isn't being consumed needlessly.

Compare the previous performance over the last 5 years and then try to work out how that performance compares with the fees and charges. A high returning fund may also charge a bunch in fees. Super funds are also an effective way of getting life insurance, so have a look at that too. Again, check out what is offered in return for the fees.

Personally, I have been very happy with Virgin - it's very open, and you can find out about your account online whenever you like, and the actual fund is managed by Macquarie, who appear to be a reasonably well to do investment bank here. They were awarded Gold fund status for 2010, and are also a QROPS registered fund if you have UK pensions that you would like to bring over. That is where most of the Industry funds fall down, as they are not QROPS registeres, so you can't transfer UK pension funds into them

Virgin Super


S

ABCDiamond

List of Australian QROPS super funds at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pensionschemes/qrops.pdf

johnnye

Have you had any problems with Virgin Super recently ?
I'm with them and haven't had a statement for over a year and have been unable to access my online account for 7 months due to their system upgrade.

Swerv-o

I haven't checked to be honest with you. They normally send a quarterly review Email. I'll have to go back through and see if I got one...


S

johnnye

See if you can log into your online account you may find its suppressed as mine has been since May last year

Swerv-o

Hmmm. I will need my membership number, which I don't have to hand. have you called the number?


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johnnye

yeah I call them up almost every week, made a complaint which has not been answered. It takes them a week to calculate an accurate balance as they have not had the info on an uptodate database. They have not been able to send me a detailed statement with all transactions, only a summary.

Their info on the Web site states that the updrade is complete, which as I point out to them it is not as I can't access my account.

Next step for me is to complain to the regulators and move to another fund. The have one more week.