New research by Chant West Financial Services rates pension products offered by commercial super funds higher than industry fund offerings in terms of member services.
The top 10 rated pension products for member services in Chant West’s ‘Pension Fund Ratings for 2007’ are all offered by commercial funds.
They generally score better in areas such as flexible payment options, capital gains transfer, options for beneficiary nominations, according to Chant West principal Warren Chant.
Asgard rated highest on member services for its Allocated Pension, Elements and eWrap products, followed by BT’s Essentials and Wrap products, and ColonialFirstState (Allocated and Wholesale).
Chant said commercial super funds also “fare better” against industry funds in Chant West’s new rating service on fees when it comes to their pension products.
“While industry funds as a group are still generally cheaper, and they dominate the top 10 on this score, their price advantage is less pronounced in the pension market.”
He said this is partly because pension clients “tend to have larger account balances than personal super clients, and so benefit from the discounted fee scales that many commercial funds offer”.
“Also, commercial funds’ pricing policies tend to be very similar for their pension and personal super divisions, whereas not-for-profit funds typically charge higher fees for their pension members.”
