APRA stands for a few things: Australian Professional Rodeo Association, Arizona Pylon Racing Association and Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The boring sounding one is the one I’m interested in as their job is to oversee banks, insurance companies and most superannuation funds. Recently APRA released a report into the fees of MySuper funds which makes for fairly dry reading, even for those of us who like graphs, charts and all things superannuation. According to moneysmart.gov.au, MySuper funds are designed to be simple and cost-effective to make things as easy as possible for those who choose not to get informed and engaged with their super. They’re a really good idea as they are the default fund for employees who don’t choose their own fund, and as they are “cost-effective” it means that you could expect your MySuper fund to not rip you off when it comes to fees.

Surprisingly, the APRA report showed fees being charged on MySuper products was over a huge range. On a member balance of $50,000 the cheapest MySuper fund in the survey charges fees of $265, which is really good value for money. The most expensive fund charges fees on a $50,000 balance of a whopping $1,322. That’s an enourmous range for a product that really shouldn’t differ much from one provider to the other, and it’s another reason to ensure that you are aware of how much your fund charges you.

So, you may ask, which MySuper fund is charging the lowest fees? I dunno. Despite the APRA report going to 20 pages, it doesn’t actually tell us the names of any of the funds.

Thanks APRA. Super job.