Industry superannuation fund Hostplus has decided to freeze raising its member fees until 2011.
The fee guarantee applies to Hostplus’ core and personal products, through which members are currently charged a flat fee of $1.50 a week.
Hostplus’ initiative to maintain member fees over the next two years marks the first time a fund has made such a guarantee since the onset of the global financial crisis, Hostplus chief executive David Elia said.
“The softening of share markets domestically and internationally over the past six months has affected all superannuation funds,” he said.
“While share market performance is beyond investor control, one thing they can control is the amount of fees they pay to their superannuation funds.”
Hostplus’ decision also bucks the trend among other superannuation funds that have shown steady fee increases in recent years, according to Elia.
“If we look at fee comparison; reports such as the one Chant West released in May this year, we see there has been a clear upward trend in fees among industry funds. [These] have increased by 12 basis points in total over the past three years,” he said.
Hostplus’ last fee increase was in December 2004. By the end of the moratorium, member fees would have remained unchanged for six consecutive years, Elia said.
Hostplus was recently named fund of the year by SuperRatings for the third consecutive year.
