Rest has reduced the asset-based administration fee in Rest Super, Rest Corporate and Rest Pension, from 0.12% per annum to 0.10% per annum and has kept the $1.50 per week fixed administration fee unchanged.
For an account balance of $50,000, the total annual administration fee was now $128 per annum, a saving of $10.
Combined with the investment fees for Rest’s default Core Strategy investment option, the total fees on an account balance of $50,000 was now $438 per annum, at least 25% below the super industry average.
Vicki Doyle, Rest chief executive, said: “Rest is committed to keeping our fees as low as possible. Many of our members work in parttime and casual jobs and accumulate smaller account balances. Ensuring our fees are among the lowest is critical to help our members achieve their best-possible retirement outcome.
“We will always look for opportunities to use our scale to continue to deliver low fees and outstanding services to our members.
“For the average Rest member in Core Strategy with a balance of around $35,000, the combined administration and investment fees are now $330 per year. This is less than 1% of the member’s account balance.
“The asset-based administration fee has also been capped at $300 since late 2020. This is one of the lowest caps in the industry and it means no member in these products will pay more than $378 in annual administration fees.”
The super fund had also expanded its enhanced responsible investment mandate with Calvert Research and Management to include a carbon reduction tilt that would cover Rest’s entire Australian equity portfolio.
In February, Rest awarded Calvert Research and Management and Parametric Portfolio Associates, which are both part of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, a mandate to implement ethical and sustainable screens and tilts across its listed real assets portfolio.
Super funds had a “tremendous month” in November, according to new data.
Australia faces a decade of deficits, with the sum of deficits over the next four years expected to overshoot forecasts by $21.8 billion.
APRA has raised an alarm about gaps in how superannuation trustees are managing the risks associated with unlisted assets, after releasing the findings of its latest review.
Compared to how funds were allocated to March this year, industry super funds have slightly decreased their allocation to infrastructure in the six months to September – dropping from 11 per cent to 10.6 per cent, according to the latest APRA data.