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How high fees eat into your super balance

Super fees can vary widely.

Super fees can vary widely. Photo: Getty

Research from finance sector watcher, Canstar, demonstrates starkly the importance of finding low fee options in superannuation.

Josh Callaghan says fees make a big difference.

Josh Callaghan says fees make a big difference.

A survey across 68 super options by Canstar reveals that fees can vary by as much as 600 per cent for the same balance. The fees themselves can range between 0.46 per cent to 2.78 per cent of funds under management, the research found.

“Even small differences in fees can have a significant impact on an investor’s end balance though, unless that fee is offset with a correspondingly higher return,” said Canstar wealth manager Josh Callaghan.

Consumers are increasingly aware of the importance of fees and Canstar reports that the topic is among the most researched on its web site.

“There are certain superannuation topics that have enduring appeal, attracting thousands of readers each month,” Mr Callaghan said.

“Top of the list is the difference between retail and industry funds, which is a distinction that seems to confuse many people. Superannuation fees are also a hot topic, and life insurance within superannuation rounds out the top three most popularly-searched topics,” he said.

Over 100,000 people visited the Canstar website in the last year looking for information on superannuation.

Life insurance research accounted for more than 25 per cent of all super research on Canstar over the year. These are the fees you can expect to pay for life insurance in super.

Canstar also looked at the value offered by 68 super products available to the public directly rather than through a financial planner. It came up with a list of funds in a range of categories.

Winners are listed in alphabetic order, not in order of performance. All selected funds are on the same preference level.

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