RaboDirect's new online self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) is designed to hand back control to financially and technically savvy retail investors.
In conjunction with Cavendish Super, the RaboDirect Online SMSF not only gives trustees the option of over 60 managed funds under the RaboDirect investment umbrella, but it allows investors to access investment options outside of that space as well.
RaboDirect Australia and New Zealand investments manager Tim Hewson said quite often in the traditional master trust and superannuation market there are severe penalties for clients who invest in products outside of a provider's investment offering. He added that retail investors want online access and the ability to choose what they want to invest in.
In regards to the fund, investors are not locked into bundled fee packages, and are able to choose the level of service they require – such as their own desired administration platform, financial advice, or broking service for listed securities.
According to Cavendish managing director Andrew Hamilton, data from various investment funds filters through to Cavendish, regardless of whether an investor sits on RaboDirect's investment platform or not. This gives trustee's simplicity by providing a full view of their SMSF through one online source, he added.
There is no restriction on how to manage the fund going forward, and while the fund is specifically targeted at retail investors, it has the capacity to include financial advisers in the investment process as well, he said.
Hewson said the online offering is not intended to bypass the financial advice process, but to give clients flexibility all the way from establishment of the fund to investing in products and back-end administration. Administration fees are charged on a fixed monthly rate, regardless of the size of an investor's asset pool.
"For years, investors have complained of hidden SMSF costs, lack of choice and unnecessary complications. Now a solution is available which puts the investor where they belong – back in control of their investment," Hewson said.
