Speaking to InvestorDaily, Hostplus chief executive David Elia said the investment option ChoicePlus is aimed at members who are “considering an SMSF”.
“This is our new investment option that allows members to directly invest their super in the ASX300, a number of leading exchange-traded funds and term deposits,” said Mr Elia.
ChoicePlus is the “perfect vehicle” for Hostplus members who are looking for greater control without the “administrative and legal burden or cost of an SMSF”, he said.
Since the 'soft' launch of the ChoicePlus on 16 September 2013, more than 600 members have invested over $16 million via the platform, said Mr Elia.
“Since its inception and prior to any promotion, ChoicePlus had more members and funds under management flow in than any other investment option excluding the Balanced (default) option,” he said.
Speaking about SMSFs generally, Mr Elia pointed out that while they “might give an investor more control”, they come with a “significant cost in time and money that some investors wouldn't ordinarily pay”.
“Even then, increased control doesn’t automatically translate to better returns,” he said.
“If you have a lot of super (eg, at least half a million dollars) and you’re very experienced in financial and legal matters, then SMSFs may be suitable,” said Mr Elia.
People who use an SMSF generally spend a lot of time tracking markets (usually more that two hours per week) and have to deal with a lot of “red tape”, he said.
Hostplus is also planning to change its structure to become a pooled superannuation trust, allowing SMSFs to access its investment options, said Mr Elia.
“Investing with HOSTPLUS would provide SMSFs with access to investments with favourable characteristics that are currently not available to them, such as wholesale property and infrastructure options,” he said.
“Our scale would provide SMSFs with lower cost institutional-type investment fees which they are unlikely to negotiate as a smaller investor,” said Mr Elia.
