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ING Direct: Facilitating the flight to safety

SMSF Service Provider Awards: Term deposits

Cash returns are not what they used to be with interest rates at record lows, but cash and term deposits will always form part of SMSF portfolios for the security and liquidity they provide.

Three to four years ago, there was a massive swing of money coming into cash and term deposits as investors, spooked by the losses in equities markets during the global financial crisis, sought the stability of cash investments, ING Direct head of superannuation Michael Christofides says. “With the volatility of the market there was a hell of a lot of money coming into stable assets such as cash. We are still seeing that trend continue. There are still SMSFs that are concerned about the markets and they do not think we are out of the woods yet,” Christofides says.

To maintain liquidity and get the best rates available, he says SMSFs commonly hold multiple term deposits with a variety of maturities. “Having balances of money at different maturities helps [advisers] get the best rate for their [SMSF] clients,” he says.

ING Direct, which won the CoreData SMSF award for term deposits, prides itself on offering highly competitive rates on its

cash products. For example, its 120-day term deposit offers a rate of 3.6 per cent, while its one-year deposit is paying 3.9 per cent. “ING Direct is known for always paying really great rates across all its products, both term deposit and variable cash accounts,” Christofides says.

The direct institution encourages loyalty from its customers, by offering a bonus interest rate to those who roll over their term deposits at maturity into another ING Direct term deposit. The customer receives 10 basis points on top of the advertised rate for the new term deposit. The new deposit does not have to have the same maturity as the previous one.

“From a self-managed super funds perspective, and particularly for advisers or accountants, service is equally important, and that’s something that ING Direct has been known for from the start,” Christofides says.

ING Direct has a dedicated team of client service agents who assist advisers and accountants who deal with SMSFs. That team helps with queries not only about SMSF clients’ term deposits and cash accounts, but also with the advisers’ or own business cash accounts. SMSF trustees who prefer to deal direct also have access to great customer service, Christofides says.

More SMSF Service Provider Award winners

  • Perpetual: Australian share fund
  • PIMCO: Fixed income
  • BGL: SMSF accounting software/administration
  • Magellan: International shares
  • Macquarie Adviser Services: Cash and accounting
  • Colonial First State: Investment platforms
  • Multiport: SMSF administration
  • TAL: Life insurance
  • AMP Capital: Commercial property
  • AMP Bank: SMSF term deposits
  • NAB: SMSF property loans

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