New superannuation fund, Zuper, has launched to allow its members to align their investment choices with their life choices.
The fund used smart technology to give Australians visibility and control over their long-term wealth with a mobile experience, real-time balance, deposit alerts and the ability to invest in the things that matter to them.
Zuper chief executive, Jess Ellerm, said most super companies were founded before the internet and there was little investment in innovation from these companies, and that the average member experience today was simply out of touch with digital expectations.
“With no visibility, it’s like someone taking $1,000 from you each month and saying you can have it back when you’re 65. We want our members to have a more meaningful relationship with what is possibly their biggest asset,” she said.
Ellerm said that Australians also had a low understanding about which companies their super was invested in.
“You could be inadvertently supporting companies that you don’t agree with. Australians today aren’t single issue people and they have a desire to make a difference to the things they care about, that’s why at Zuper we let members mix and match their funds into industries they support,” Ellerm said.
Zuper will allow members to invest a portion of the fund into a personal portfolio mix that aligns with their interests – Zuper Green, Zuper Health, and Zuper Tech. The fund also invests into a combination of inexpensive index and exchange traded funds to leave money managers and high fees out of the picture.
The core of their members’ super is invested across a simple set of assets such as cash, bonds, Australian shares, international shares, and property infrastructure.
“Our mission is to allow everyone to align their investment choices with their life choices, to put knowledge and power back into the hands of the people and to help all Australians have a more meaningful relationship with their superannuation,” Ellerm said.
Future Group is set to take on nearly $1 billion in funds under management (FUM) and welcome more than 100,000 new members following two significant successor fund transfers.
Insignia’s Master Trust business suffered a 1.9 per cent dip in FUA in the third quarter, amid total net outflows of $1.8 billion.
While the Liberal senator has accused super funds of locking everyday Australians out of the housing market, industry advocates say the Coalition’s policy would only push home ownership further out of reach.
Australia’s largest superannuation fund has confirmed all members who had funds stolen during the recent cyber fraud crime have been reimbursed.