Financial services provider IOOF has decided to give same-sex couples access to cheaper platform fees for the first time.
Until now only nuclear families that link up to four IOOF accounts could gain a reduction in administration fees.
The fee aggregation scheme applies to the Pursuit platform and IOOF Portfolio Service.
Under IOOF’s tiered fee structure, investors can link accounts for the purpose of reducing their administration fees.
For example, a female investor has $400,000 in Pursuit Select Personal Super and her partner has $300,000 in Pursuit Select Allocated Pension. Utilising IOOF’s fee cap and fee aggregation in Pursuit Select, the combined fee would be $3150, a saving of $1500.
IOOF fees are capped at $3150 based on an account balance of $500,000.
IOOF decided to take the initiative when a customer in a same-sex relationship tried to apply for fee aggregation, IOOF head of strategy and product Nick Everingham said.
“The simple fact is if a couple is in a domestic relationship then they should have access to fee aggregation regardless of their gender,” Everingham said.
“It’s not a legal issue – it’s a product rule.”
In determining what constitutes an eligible couple, IOOF refers to the definition of domestic partners under Victoria’s Property Law Act.
The act states that a domestic relationship is one between two people who are living or have lived together as a genuine couple (irrespective of gender) for at least two years.
