Just two years after launching, ING DIRECT Living Super has hit $1 billion Funds Under Management (FUM), testament to the increasing appetite that exists for no fee and low fee super options.
Launched in 2012 as a direct to the customer offering and made available through accredited advisers in mid-2014, Living Super houses the first Balanced option available to all Australians with no administration or management fees and the ability to invest in ING DIRECT Cash and Term Deposits with no fees.
Lisa Claes, Executive Director of Customer Delivery, ING DIRECT, commented that much of the success of Living Super could be attributed to the overwhelming customer response to the no fee and low fee options available:
“Living Super helps our customers’ money work harder, resulting in a healthier retirement balance and reducing unnecessary fees. According to the Grattan Institute report on super fees, even on conservative assumptions, a 30-year old could forego more than $250,000 in their retirement balance – about a quarter of their total balance – due to the impact of fees.”
Living Super customers are able to select from a wide menu of investment options and remain in control of their super portfolio at all times, being able to change their preferences simply and efficiently via ING DIRECT’s secure website. Living Super also offers access to a range of managed funds, as well as real time trading of shares listed on the ASX/S&P 200 index and selected ETF’s and LIC’s.
Following its early success, Living Super was made available through accredited advisers in mid-2014, providing customers with the ability to authorise the deduction of their super advice fee from their Living Super account and permitting non-transactional access to their adviser.
Ms Claes said the bank was focused on broadening the reach of Living Super through advisers with new developments planned for early 2015:
“We are well aware of the importance of advisers in helping their clients to navigate the super landscape and understand the different options available, particularly the impact of fees.
“That’s why we are committed to investing in the adviser channel and will be launching an adviser portal in early 2015 allowing advisers to manage and administer their clients’ Living Super portfolios online.”
Commenting on the development of Living Super, Ms Claes said it was about bringing value and choice to Australians and shaking up the super landscape:
“We built Living Super to fill a clear gap in the market. Customers were telling us they wanted transparency, value and control, and there was a real lack of choice when it came to matching superannuation with these principles.”
“Super is arguably one of the biggest investments a person will ever make, so we focused on making it simple to keep super front of mind. Living Super customers can view their super balance alongside their savings, home loan and transaction account balances on our app, and can make changes to their portfolios at any time through our secure website.”
Living Super has been awarded the SuperRatings Best New Product for 2013 for innovative product design that benefits members and the SuperRatings Fast Mover 2014 award, alongside back to back Platinum ratings in 2013 and 2014.
